The Beginning of Secrets
by Boredsowritting01
Summary: The VA gang gets kidnapped and forced to read all six Vampire Academy books. While trying to figure out who is making them read this, they find out about their futures. Time: After Frostbite... I know i've seen this done many times, but no one ever finishes, so i am taking a chance with it. I'll try posting daily. M... b/c of later chapters.
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy**

_Author's Note: Let us pretend they already know Jill...Who will eventually show up. Okay? _

Prolog

_Dimitri has_ yet to start up morning practices since Mason's death. It has been two weeks, and though he hasn't training yet, I still ran every afternoon to clear my head of the day. I know something weird is going, when isn't there? I couldn't put my finger out it. I was going on my afternoon run, probably on my fifthteen lap when I got hit over the head. It was hard enough to knock me out and it did.

I know, because I woke up in a room with four bunk beds that had two doors on either side. All the beds were made with a wool blanket and soft sheets underneath. It was fairly cold in the room and goose bumps rose on my arms and legs. My workout clothing was defiantly not made for this. I had run in the gym so I don't mess the winter air. So I had a sports bra and tight stretchy shorts with running shoes. I looked around before actually standing up and opening one of the doors, it had nine comfortable looking chairs. I closed the door and opened the other door, which was a bathroom complete with a…shower? Looking closer the shower had different body washes, shampoo/conditioner, towels, everything you would basically need to take a shower with. I turned to look at the sink; nine tooth brushes each labeled with a name: Dimitri, Adrian, Lissa, Christian, Jill, Eddie, Ibraham, Janine, and mine. They were all in a cup, with toothpaste next to the sink. Nine name, eight beds, hygiene products… what does this mean?

_-Read to Leave-_

I don't know how long it was but a shoot above me opened up as I stared at it confused as to why it was there until a body dropped from it. I hurried to it, checking if the person was okay. When I flipped the body it was Dimitri… The shoot closed and worked on waking him up. He wore his usual duster, jeans, and a t-shirt. I lightly slapped his face and called his name to get him to wake up. It took a while but when he did he shot straight up and looked around the room.

"Roza?" I smiled, I missed hearing that nickname.

"Hi."

"Have you been here this whole time?" He asked taking me in then looking around the room. I had one of the wool blankets around me as it did get really cold down here.

"Yeah. Comrade. How long have I been here?"

"A week." I nod and lean up against the bunk beds. He took in the room more and stood up.

"What are behind those doors?"

"One is just like a sitting room. The other is a full on bathroom with hygiene products and everything. Nine toothbrushes with nine different names marked on them. You could just look around nothing has changed much." He does just that, when he came back he sits down next to me. I leaned my head on his shoulder.

"So I am guessing everyone that has a toothbrush in there will show up eventually?" I ask.

"Maybe."

_-Read to Leave-_

Again, I lost how long Dimitri had been here. I clued him in that a slot in the wall will open and have food three times a day, how I got down here, and how I ended up here as we sat there when he first showed up. When I said a shoot opens from above, he unmade one of the beddings and places the mattress there, just in case more of the people showed up. And one did, from the moment he landed I could tell he was a Moroi.

Dimitri and I made our way over to him and tried waking him up. I didn't recognize him so I put it that he was Ibraham. He took longer to wake up, but he did. Much like Dimitri had done he shot up and looked around the room. The man was wearing a suit and had a lone gold ear ring, the under color of his suit was a deep purple.

"Who are you?" He questioned looking at me.

"Rose."

"You?" Though he had looked at Dimitri like he already knew him, it was like he was making sure.

"Dimitri."

"Belikov?" Dimitri nods and we both move away from him. I wondered how he knew Dimitri, but didn't question it. I decided to catch him up on what rooms where what. He nods along, and chooses a bed to sit on. I couldn't help but notice how his name sounded so familiar and how he looked Turkish. It took me a moment, but I realized mom told me my father's name was Ibraham. Though he told us to call him Abe, and I didn't want to bring it up that I knew he was my father.

He also made it a little obvious when he saw the Nazar hanging around my neck; I did not take off since my mother gave it to me. It was only a few seconds he saw it, but I saw the recognition in it, before he put up a mask. He must know that I was his daughter or at least knew that mom gave it to me. I didn't know how many Nazar's they made a like, so I wasn't for sure.

Abe kept to himself most of the time. What I was worried about blood- it eventually showed up though. Once a day, and the others were regular food. The person or people who took us were treating us well, but I had no idea why. Dimitri had given me his duster a while ago because all I had was the sports bra and work out shorts and he knew I was freezing in them.

_-Read to Leave-_

The next person to show up was Christian. I could tell that black hair from anywhere. Dimitri and I did pretty much what we did for Abe, while Abe watched everything. Christian was alert quickly, but just stared confusedly at us for a moment before sitting up. He grabbed his head and cursed. Then looked up at me, wincing slightly.

"Rose?" I nod. I looked Christian over and he had blood trailing down his face from where I assume the person hit him over the head.

"You know Lissa is worried sick about you. And you." He turned to look at Dimitri.

"We've been here."

"You make it a habit to get kidnapped don't you?" I rolled my eyes and helped him up sitting him on my bed. We clued him in on the rooms and Abe and asked him how he got here.

Abe said he was eating when he must've pasted out. Some put a tyrannizer in his food as I also found out from Dimitri he was a type of mobster. Christian said he was waiting for Lissa in the church when someone jumped out from behind one of the boxes and attacked him.

"Lissa and Adrian have both been trying to contact both of you, but they couldn't they said something was blocking you."

"Pretty much the same here. I can't see into Lissa's head." Christian nods.

"Do you have any idea why we've been kidnapped again?" I shook my head.

"Do you know if it's a Strigoi this time too?"

"Most likely a Dhampir or Moroi. Strigoi wouldn't treat us this good." I said, leaning against the wall by my bed.

"They could just be fattening us up." Christian smirked, I sadly smiled at him.

"What and be there Dinner meal for their Dinner party?" He snorted.

"Seriously though, I don't think it's a Strigoi. They would've said or done something. Killed me by now." I mentioned. Abe and Dimitri had been quiet listening to us talk; I had not brought it up who I thought it was. He sighed.

"At least they gave us beds and our hands aren't tied behind us." I nod.

"Pick a bed. This one is mine though." He nods and just moves above mine. Dimitri was across from mine and Abe's was next to Dimitri's.

_-Read to Leave-_

"God. I am so bored!" Christian complained. I groaned and kicked the bed above me.

"Shut up."

"This is just as bad as when we were captured by Isaiah and Elena. At least they visited." I rolled my eyes.

"Only because they wanted to torture you and Mia."

"Details. But you were entertaining too. Isaiah hated you."

"Yeah. Well. The feeling was mutual." I hear him sigh then his head pops into view, his hair hanging from his head from being upside down.

"I wonder what would happen if that shoot opened and I sent a fireball up it."

"I have a feeling Magic isn't going to get out of this. Especially since we don't even know what this person wants."

"You know, I kind of miss Isaiah and Elena now. They were our only entertainment." I rolled my eyes.

"Only because Elena whined away too much and Isaiah looked like he wanted to kill her."

"True. I was always wondering when he would just-" The shoot opened, cutting Christian off. I got up and check on Eddie. He was pretty much the only short blonde hair guy I knew. He had a couple of bruises here and there. He opened his eyes slowly, focusing on me.

"ROSE!" He practically yelled and hugged me. Which was unusual for him, I slightly laughed and hugged him back.

"Whoop! It's a freaking reunion on people who got kidnapped no more than a month ago." Christian said. Eddie and I pulled back and looked, mostly glared at him.

"I feel sorry for you, Rose. You had to spend more time with him." I laughed and caught Eddie up on everything.

"Did this person hurt you?" Eddie questioned, Eddie was sitting on my bed with me.

"Only when he knocked me out, over protective _brother_." Eddie slightly smiled.

"Someone has to watch out for your ass. You get in trouble more than I can keep up with."

"HEY! You're with me, so you get in the same amount of trouble." I rolled his eyes. Then stood up.

"Yes. But it's your crazy ideas that get me in trouble." Eddie climbed above Dimitri's bed.

"That's true." Christian piped in. I groaned.

"You both know your lives would be extremely boring without me."

"Don't get full of yourself Hathaway." Out of the corner of my eye, I see Abe tense at the sound of my last name, but recovered and stared at the bed above him. I guess he was not expecting that.

"I would have to disagree with you there Ozera." I said. Neither Eddie nor Christian said anything else.

_-Read to Leave-_

Christian and I were in the middle of an argument and I could tell Dimitri was getting tired of it. From the little emotion I could catch from the old man, he found Christian and I amusing. Eddie was staring at the ceiling, ignoring us as he was use to us arguing.

"Quiet. Both of you." Dimitri said, in his demanding voice. Christian stop and glared at me.

"Whatever Comrade. We're the entertainment in this hell hole." Dimitri looked exasperated at the comment but said nothing else. Once again like the last four times the shoot opened and a body dropped. Eddie went to check on the person.

"It's Adrian." I groaned and stood up.

"Why do all the guys have to come first?" I mumbled, helping Eddie wake Adrian who smelled like Alcohol and smoke.

"You know. Can't we just place him on a bed and let him wake on his own. It'll be less annoying than if he was awake." I told Eddie who shrugs, we both picked him up- as he was fairly light for us Dhampirs. We placed him on the last bottom bunk and left him.

"Next are all the girls." I said pulling back the wool blanket and covering Adrian up.

"Lissa, Jill, and your mom right? Then what? This person finally tells us what they want?"

"I guess."

_-Read to Leave-_

It took Adrian until the next day to wake up and he has been annoying ever since. I threatened to knock him out practically every day and Christian practically begs me to, but with a look from Dimitri stops me every single time.

"What I wouldn't do for a drink or a cigarette right now." Adrian complained.

"Are you always this whiney when you haven't had a drink? Gosh, and you wonder why I haven't slept with you." Adrian smirks.

"Little Dhampir, I didn't know you felt that way."

"Bite me, Adrian. You aren't getting anywhere near my body." He chuckled.

"Probably not. Your boy toy will beat the crap out of me." Dimitri and I froze.

"Boy toy?" Eddie asks, looking at me. Adrian chuckles again.

"Pick a boy, any boy, they all practically want to bed Rosie here and will do anything to do so." I rolled my eyes.

"Not my fault they're all horn dogs. And don't call me Rosie or you will wake up missing your man hood." Christian, Eddie, and Adrian laugh. Dimitri and Abe looked amused.

"He has a point Rose." Eddie said I opened my mouth to counteract him but the shoot opened again. Adrian looked up the shoot as much as he could.

"It's Lissa." He said as her body fell down it. Unlike the rest of us, she was awake when she fell down it. First she attacked Christian into a hug and once she saw me she pretty much did the same. I noticed the bond was back now that she was standing right in front of me.

She was telling me how much she missed me. Her emotions were happy, terrified, and filled with worry though. When she turned back to Christian perverted thoughts entered her head about Christian.

"Okay. You two are defiantly NOT sharing a bed." Lissa blushed and Christian smirked as Adrian laughed.

"We could-"

"NO! No making little Dragomirs and anything closely related to that thing." I pointed to Christian who glared at me. "Don't even try, I'll know." I taped on my head.

"Thought you said you can't feel the bond."

"I couldn't, but her standing her I can and her thoughts are _loud_ and _clear_."

_-Read to Leave-_

Jill showed up next terrified as ever. Adrian had to use compulsion to calm her down, otherwise known as putting her to sleep. We placed her on Adrian's bed and he sat on the edge of the bed. It was hours before she woke up.

"Jailbait." Adrian said looking at her. We all thought of her as a little sister so we sat in front of her. Dimitri and Abe stayed back letting us calm her down. One by one she looked at us, her smile getting bigger with each person. She finally looked at me.

"ROSE!" She launched herself at me and I smiled. I knew she looked up to me and maybe even Christian knowing that he was big on magical self-defense. We were all pretty protective over Jill and it was probably because of whom she was and it was that she was basically so innocent. After she hugged me she hugged Eddie- maybe a little TOO long-, Lissa, an awkward hug with Christian, and then Adrian. Adrian gave a brotherly hug, we could all tell. I knew Jill was starting to think of him more like an older brother and maybe developing a crush on Eddie. I was not sure, but I did at least catch him ogled her a couple times.

She looked behind us and saw Dimitri and Abe.

"Guardian Belikov." He nods his head as a hello. "Who is that?" She inclines her head to Abe. After introductions and explaining the rooms and beds. Christian and Lissa said they will start sharing a bed after the last person-my mom- shows up.

_-Read to Leave-_

Janine-mom- finally showed up and I could see she was slightly alarmed when she saw Abe. After everyone got everyone caught on how they were captured and pretty much how they remembered everything. After the next meal for everyone showed up, buzzing was heard and a different slot in the wall opened. The slot had six slots, each held a book; white covers with numbers 1-6 on them.

"Welcome Prisoners. All of you know each other, maybe more than some realize. You will not be getting out unless you do something for me." The first slot opened. "The first two books are past events, but others are your futures. Knowledge of your futures is dangerous knowledge. But knowing, maybe you could change them. Read them, decide what needs changing, and you can leave. The faster you read, the faster you'll get out."

With that the buzzing stops and it took us for a moment before anyone stood up to get the book. Jill stood up and grabbed the book.


	2. Reading Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 1

_We all _made our way to the other room to have more room. Lissa sat between me and Christian, Jill sat between Eddie and Adrian who was on the other side of Christian. Dimitri was next to me, mom next to him, then Abe next to her. It was one huge circle; since Jill grabbed the book first, she began.

**Chapter one.**

**I felt her fear before I heard her screams. Her nightmare pulsed-**

"Why does this sound like a porno?" Adrian asks.

"Cause you're a weirdo." I retorted.

**Into me, shaking me out of my own dream, which had had something to do with a beach and some hot guy rubbing suntan oil on me. Imagines-hers, not mine- tumbled through my mind: fire and blood, the smell of smoke, the twisted metal of a car. **

"Where you died?" Jill asked the question was directed at me. But Lissa and I nod, just slightly grateful that she didn't say where Lissa's family died. I know if she knew what she could do at the moment, she would've brought back every single one of us, which wasn't possible.

**The pictures wrapped around me, suffocating me, until some rational part of my brain reminded me that this wasn't **_**my **_**dream. I woke up, strands of long, dark hair sticking to my forehead. Lissa lay in her bed, thrashing and screaming. I bolted out of mine, quickly crossing the few feet that separated us. **

"Where were you at this point of time? Like housing wise?" Jill asked.

"It was a college campus." I shrug as Jill nods.

"**Liss," I said, shaking her. "Liss, wake up."**

**Her screams dropped off, replaced by soft whimpers. "Andre," she moaned. "Oh god." I help her sit up. **

"**Liss, you aren't there anymore. Wake up." **

"That nightmare was a nightly thing." Lissa mumbled. I knew since she met Christian they had slowly stopped, like him being there got them to quiet down.

**After a few moments, her eyes fluttered open, and in the dim lighting, I could see a flicker of consciousness start to take over. Her frantic breathing slowed, and she leaned into me, resting her head against my shoulder. I put an arm around her and ran a have over her hair. **

"I felt like a freaking mom, calming down her daughter when she has bad dreams, or when she just broke up with 'the one.'" I smiled at the end for some reason I had found that slightly funny.

"Sometimes, I felt like you were the mom. Heck your protective like one." I smiled at her. Jill started giggling and we all looked at her. But she said nothing but read from the book.

"**It's okay," I told her gently. **

"**Everything's okay." **

"**I had that dream."**

"**Yeah. I know." We sat like that for several minutes, not saying anything else. When I felt her emotions clam down, I leaned over to the nightstand between our beds and turned on the lamp. It glowed dimly, but neither of us really needed much to see by. Attracted by the light, our housemate's cat, Oscar, leapt up onto the sill of the open window. **

"You know, Lissa. For some strange reason I miss that stupid cat, though it hated me and I hated it." Lissa cracked a smile.

"Maybe I should get one."

"NO!" Christian and I yell at the same time, which sent everyone, but the 'mature ones' into a laughing fit.

**He gave me a wide berth-animals don't like Dhampirs, for whatever reason-but jumped onto the bed and rubbed his head against Lissa, purring softly. Animals didn't have a problem with Moroi, and they all loved Lissa in particular. Smiling, she scratched his chin, and I felt her calm further. **

"You know if we didn't know you had a bond this would sound totally wrong." Adrian had this smirk on his face. Lissa and I rolled our eyes at Adrian's pervertedness.

"**When did we last do a feeding?" I asked, studying her face. Her fair skin was paler than usual. Dark circles hung under her eyes, and there was an air of frailty about her. School had been hectic this week, and I couldn't remember the last time I'd given her blood. **

"**It's been like…more than two days, hasn't it? Three? Why didn't you say anything?" **

**She shrugged and wouldn't meet my eyes. "You were busy. I didn't want to-" **

"**Screw that," I said, shifting into a better position. No wonder she seemed so weak. Oscar, not wanting me any closer, leapt down and returned to the window, where he could watch at a safe distance. "Come on. Let's do this."**

"Hold on. You let her feed from you?" Jill asked. "I thought those were just rumors." I shrug.

"We were on the run, for two years. You can't go up to another Moroi asking to use their feeder that they got on call. It was too risky."

"Staying under the radar. No wonder it took a long time to find you guys." Jill mumbled and began reading again.

"**Rose-" **

"**Come **_**on. **_**It'll make you feel better." I titled my head and tossed my hair back, baring my neck. I saw her hesitate, but the sight of my neck and what it offered proved too powerful. A hungry expression crossed her face, and her lips parted slightly, exposing the fangs she normally kept hidden while living among humans. Those fangs contrasted oddly with the rest of her features. With her pretty face and pale blond hair, she looked more like an angel than a vampire. **

"Awe. Thank you." I smiled at her.

**As her teeth neared my bare skin, I felt my heart race with a mix of fear and anticipation. I always hated feeling the latter, but it was nothing I could help, a weakness I couldn't shake. Her fangs bit into me, hard, and I cried out at the brief flare of pain. Then it faded, replaced by a wonderful, golden joy that spread through my body. It was better than any of the times I'd been drunk or high. **

"Rose." My mother chastised me. I rolled my eyes and motioned Jill to continue.

**Better than sex-or so I imagined, since I'd never done it. **

"Little Dhampir, you don't know what you're missing." Adrian wiggled his eyebrows at me. I could tell that Dimitri was glaring at him and so were my mom and Abe.

"One, Gross. Two, in your dreams. Three, Use your hand." Christian and Eddie chuckled at the last one.

**It was a blanket of pure, refined pleasure, wrapping me up and promising everything would be right in the world. On and on it went. The chemicals in her saliva triggered an endorphin rush, and I lost track of the world, lost track of who I was. Then, regretfully, it was over. It had taken less than a minute. She pulled back, wiping her hand across her lips as she studied me. **

"**You okay?"**

"**I…yeah." I lay back on the bed, dizzy from the blood loss. **

"**I just need to sleep it off. I'm fine." Her pale, jade-green eyes watched me with concern. She stood up. **

"**I'm going to get you something to eat." My protests come awkwardly to my lips, and she left before I could get out a sentence. **

"Hey something that could hold Rose's mouth shut longer." Christian said. I glared at him, as my mom told Jill to read before I could even open my mouth…again.

**The buzz from her bite had lessened as soon as she broke the connection, but some of it still lingered in my veins, and I felt a goofy smile cross my lips. Turning my head, I glanced up at Oscar, still sitting in the window. "You don't know what you're missing." I told him. **

"You are talking to a cat?" Eddie asked slowly, looking at me like I had two heads.

"I was high! Okay!" Christian started to laugh. Lissa elbowed him and then moved away. I smirked at the two.

**His attention was on something outside. Hunkering down into a crouch, he puffed out his Jet-black fur. **

"Hey, sounds like Christian." Christian growled at me and I laughed along with Lissa.

"That's right, kitty." I leaned over to 'pet' him and he grabbed my wrist.

"Touch me and I set you on fire."

"You won't do no such thing. Lissa won't give you any for hurting her best friend." We both looked at Lissa and she nods. He sighs and let it go.

"Whipped." Adrian commented as everyone laughed. The adults looked less amused by this whole thing.

"Can we get on with it?" Mom demanded, more than asked.

**His tail started twitching. My smiled faded, and I forced myself to sit up. The world spun, and I waited for it to right itself before trying to stand. When I managed it, the dizziness set in again and this time refused to leave. Still, I felt okay enough to stumble to the window and peer out with Oscar. He eyed me warily, scooted over a little, and then returned to whatever had held his attention. **

"What is he staring at?" Jill asked, looking up from the book. I turned to look over at Dimitri, then turning and shrug.

"I have no idea."

**A warm breeze-unseasonably warm for a Portland fall- played with my hair as I leaned out. The street was dark and relatively quiet. It was three in the morning, just about the only time a college campus settled down, at least somewhat. The house in which we'd rent a room for the past eight months sat on a residential street with old, nearly ready to burn out. Across the road, a streetlight flickered, nearly ready to burn out. It still cast enough light for me to make out the shapes of cars and buildings. In our own yard, I could see the silhouettes of trees and bushes. A man watching me. I jerked back in surprise. **

"Ooooo, this is getting interesting." Jill once again, commented. I sniffle a laugh and smiled at her innocent and what seemed like a need to live through us to find things out.

**A figure stood by a tree in the yard, about thirty feet away, where he could easily see through the window. He was close enough that I probably could have thrown something and hit him. He was certainly close enough that he could have seen what Lissa and I had just done. The shadows covered him so well that even with my heightened sight, I couldn't make out any of his features, save for his height. He was tall. Really tall. He stood there for just a moment, barely discernible, and then stepped back, disappearing into the shadows cast by the trees on the far side of the yard. **

"Creepier." Adrian sang. One look on his face and I knew he figured out who was the 'really tall man'.

**I was pretty sure I saw someone else move nearby and join him before the blackness swallowed them both. Whoever these figures were, Oscar didn't like them. Not counting me, he usually got along with most people, growing upset only when someone poised an immediate danger. The guy outside hadn't done anything threatening to Oscar, but the cat had sensed something, something that put him on edge. Something similar to what he always sensed in me. **

"So this person was a Dhampir?" Jill questioned. Out of the corner of my eye I see Dimitri was fighting not to smile.

"Yeah. He was/is a Dhampir."

**Icy fear raced through me, almost-but not quite-eradicating the lovely bliss of Lissa's bite. Backing up from the window, I jerked on a pair of jeans that I found on the floor, nearly falling over in the process. Once they were on, I grabbed my coat and Lissa's, along with our wallets. Shoving my feet into the first shoes I saw, I headed out the door. Downstairs, I found her in the cramped kitchen, rummaging through the refrigerator. One of our housemates, Jeremy, sat at the table, hand on his forehead as he stared sadly at a calculus book. Lissa regarded me with surprise. **

"You lived with a guy?" Christian asked looking a little jealous.

"Not the point, Pyro."

"**You shouldn't be up." **

"**We have to go. Now." Her eyes widened, and then a moment later, understanding clicked in. **

"**Are you…really? Are you sure?" I nodded. I couldn't explain how I knew for sure. I just did. Jeremy watched us curiously. **

"**What's wrong?" An idea came to mind. **

"**Liss, get his car keys." **

**He looked back and forth between us. "What are you-" **

**Lissa unhesitatingly walked over to him. Her fear poured into me through our psychic bond, but there was something else too: her complete faith that I would take care of everything, that we would be safe. **

I sighed. "Unless you're going up against him." I mumbled, enough that only Dimitri heard me and I hear him laughing, not loud enough to draw attention but enough I knew he was laughing.

**Like always, I hoped I was worthy of that kind of trust. **

"Defiantly worthy." Lissa said.

"Yeah. You're the one who thought about a way to get us out when we were captured by Isaiah." Eddie said.

"You kicked Strigoi ass, protecting all of us. Even though they could've killed you that moment." Christian said, oddly serious. I smiled at them.

**She smiled broadly and gazed directly into his eyes. For a moment, Jeremy just stared, still confused, and then I saw the thrall seize him. His eyes glazed over, and he regarded her adoringly. **

"**We need to borrow your car," she said in a gentle voice. **

"**Where are your keys?" He smiled, and I shivered. I had a high resistance to compulsion, but I could still feel its effects when it was directed at another person. **

"Compulsion? Princess-"

"Leave it alone mom." I looked at Jill for her to continue.

**That, and I'd been taught my entire life that using it was wrong. Reaching into his pocket, Jeremy handed over a set of keys hanging on a large red key chain. "Thank you," said Lissa. "And where is it parked?" **

"**Down the street," he said dreamily. "At the corner. By brown." Four blocks away. **

"Let me guess. You didn't make it the four blocks." Christian gave me an arrogant smile.

"I'm here aren't I?"

"**Thank you," she repeated, backing up. "As soon as we leave, I want you to go back to studying. Forget you ever saw us tonight." He nodded obligingly. **

**I got the impression he would have walked off a cliff for her right then if she'd asked. All humans were susceptible to compulsion, but Jeremy appeared weaker than most. That came in handy right now. **

"**Come on," I told her. "We've got to move." **

"Everyone is pretty much way anyways. Waiting to pleasure you at every corner." Christian surprisingly said.

"Okay. THAT sounded perverted. We don't want to know what you do behind closed doors." Snickers filled the room.

**We stepped outside, heading toward the corner he'd named. I was still dizzy from the bite and kept stumbling, unable to move as quickly as I wanted. Lissa had to catch hold of me a few times to stop me from falling. All the time, that anxiety rushed into me from her mind. I tried my best to ignore it; I had my own fears to deal with. **

"**Rose…what are we going to do if they catch us?" **

"**They won't," I said fiercely. "I won't let them."**

"**But if they've found us-"**

"**They found us before. They didn't catch us then. We'll just drive over to the train station and go to L.A. They'll lose the trail." **

"Sounds so simple." Lissa mumbled.

"That was the point. If I made it sound difficult or didn't believe in my own plan, how would it have worked?"

"That made no sense Rose."

"Yes, but it did up here." I taped on my head; everyone shook their heads at my comment.

**I made it sound simple. I always did, even though there was nothing simple about being on the run from the people we'd grown up with. We'd been doing it for two years, hiding wherever we could and just trying to finish high school. Our senior year had just started, and living on a college campus had seemed safe. We were so close to freedom. She said nothing more, and I felt her faith in me surge up once more. This was the way it had always been between us. I was the one who took action, who made sure things happened-sometimes recklessly so. **

"Don't we know it." Eddie mumbled. I crossed my arms over my chest.

"Yeah? I saved your ass more times than you can count. So reckless or not, you owe me your life." I was slightly smirking. I can see him shaking his head and smiling at me.

"And for the record it was twice." He mumbled.

**She was the more reasonable one, the one who thought things out and researched them extensively before acting. **

This was what made us such good friends. I get the information from her then act on it, even if it risked my life to do so.

**Both styles had their uses, but at the moment, recklessness was called for. We didn't have time to hesitate. Lissa and I had been friends ever since kindergarten, when our teacher had paired us together for writing lessons. Forcing five-year-olds to spell **_**Vasilisa Dragomir**_** and**_** Rosemarie Hathaway**_** was beyond cruel, and we'd- or rather, **_**I'd- **_**responded appropriately. **

"What did you do Rose?" Adrian asked, I smiled innocently and pointed to the book.

**I'd chucked my book at our teacher and called her a fascist bastard. **

The gang started laughing, mom had groaned and for some reason placed her head in her hands, Dimitri was chuckling lightly but tried to hide it, and Abe looked highly amused. After Jill calmed down enough to read she did so.

**I hadn't known what those words meant, but I'd known how to hit a moving target. Lissa and I had been inseparable ever since. **

"**Do you hear that?" she asked suddenly. It took me a few seconds to pick up what her sharper senses already had. Footsteps, moving fast. I grimaced. We had two more blocks to go. "We've got to run for it," I said, catching hold of her arm. **

"**But you can't-" **

"_**Run."**_

**It took every ounce of my willpower not to pass out on the sidewalk. My body didn't want to run after losing blood or while still metabolizing the effects of her saliva. But I ordered my muscles to stop their bitching and clung to Lissa as our feet pounded against the concrete. Normally I could have outrun her without any extra effort-particularly since she was barefoot- but tonight, she was all that held me upright. **

"Which sucks, you know that?" No one answered, and I knew they wouldn't.

**The pursuing footsteps grew louder, closer. Black stars danced before my eyes. Ahead of us, I could make out Jeremy's green Honda. Oh God, if we could just make it- Ten feet from the car, a man stepped directly into our path. We came to a screeching halt, and I jerked Lissa back by her arm. It was **_**him, **_**the guy I'd seen across the street watching me. He was older than us, maybe mid-twenties, and as tall as I'd figured, probably six-six or six-seven. And under different circumstances-say, when he wasn't holding up our desperate escape- I would have thought**

"Rose, he is trying to take you back to the place you guys ran away from… and you have time to think this instead of getting away?" I groaned, remembering exactly what I thought of Dimitri. I could see everyone but mom, Abe, and Jill smiling as they figured out who it was. Dimitri looked slightly curious.

"What? Why she acting like that?"

"Well, Jailbait. Who is the ONE person who is in their mid-twenties, who is about six-seven, AND able to figure things out fast?" Adrian said looking between Dimitri and Jill. It appeared then, Jill had an ah-ha moment. Jill giggles and finishes the sentence.

**I would have thought he was hot. Shoulder-length brown hair, tied back in a short ponytail. Dark brown eyes. A long brown coat-a duster, I thought it was called. But his hotness was irrelevant now. **

I was now glaring at the book in Jill's hand, wishing it to catch fire. Sadly it didn't.

**He was only an obstacle keeping Lissa and me away from the car and our freedom. The footsteps behind us slowed, and I knew our pursers had caught up. Off to the sides, I detected more movement, more people closing in. God. They'd sent almost a dozen guardians to retrieve us. **

"Did you have to come at us with that many guardians? I mean… we were just two teenage girls, hardly do any damaged." A couple of the guys snorted and Dimitri raised one of his eye brows.

"Your reputation of fighting required as much, if we wanted to get you back to St. Vladimir." Dimitri said in a matter-of-fact voice.

**I couldn't believe it. The queen herself didn't travel with that many. Panicked and not entirely in control of my higher reasoning, I acted out of instinct. I pressed up to Lissa, keeping her behind me and away from the man who appeared to be the leader. **

"**Leave her alone," I growled. "Don't touch her." His face was unreadable, but he held out his hands in what was apparently supposed to be some sort of calming gesture, like I was a rabid animal-**

"Might as well been." Eddie said, not looking at me to see the glare I was giving him.

**He was planning to sedate. "I'm not going to-" **

**He took a step forward. Too close. I attacked him, leaping out in an offensive maneuver I hadn't used in two years, not since Lissa and I had run away. The move was stupid, **

"Glad you realize that." Dimitri commented, I turned and glared at him.

**Another reason born of instinct and fear. And it was hopeless. He was a skilled guardian, not a novice who hadn't finished his training. He also wasn't weak and on the verge of passing out. And man, was he fast. I'd forgotten how fast guardians could be, how they could move and strike like cobras. He knocked me off as though brushing away a fly, **

"What is up with you and comparing things to animals?" Christian asked.

**And his hands slammed into me and sent me backwards. I don't think he meant to strike that hard-probably just intended to keep me away-but my lack of coordination interfered with my ability to respond. **

**Unable to catch my footing, I started to fall, heading straight toward the sidewalk at a twisted angle, hip-first. It was going to hurt. **_**A lot. **_**Only it didn't. Just as quickly as he'd blocked me, the man reached out and caught my arm, keeping me upright. When I'd steadied myself, I noticed he was staring at me-or, more precisely, at my neck. Still disoriented, I didn't get it right away. Then, slowly, my free hand reached up to the side of my throat and lightly touched the wound Lissa had made earlier. When I pulled my fingers back, I saw slick, dark blood on my skin. **

"I knew I should've healed it after I bit you…" Lissa mumbled, knowing that I didn't like people knowing about me feeding her.

**Embarrassed, I shook my hair so that it fell forward around my face. My hair was thick and long and completely covered my neck. I'd grown it out for precisely this reason. The guy's dark eyes lingered on the now-covered bite a moment longer and then met mine. I returned his look defiantly and quickly jerked out of his hold. He let me go, though I knew he could have restrained me all night if he'd wanted. Fighting the nauseating dizziness, I backed toward Lissa again, bracing myself for another attack. Suddenly, her hand caught hold of mine. **

"**Rose," she said quietly. "Don't." **

"Are you using compulsion?" Jill questioned, looking at Lissa. We both shook our heads in answer and I pointed to the book.

**Her words had no effect on me at first, but calming thoughts gradually began to settle in my mind, coming across through the bond. It wasn't exactly compulsion-she wouldn't use that on me-but it was effectual, as was the fact that we were hopelessly outnumbered and outclassed. Even I knew struggling would be pointless. The tension left my body, and I sagged in defeat. Sensing my resignation, the man stepped forward, turning his attention to Lissa. His face was calm. He swept her a bow and managed to look graceful doing it, which surprised me considering his height. **

"**My name is Dimitri Belikov," he said. I could hear a faint Russian accent. "I've come to take you back to St. Vladimir's Academy, Princess."**

I made a face at the words 'St. Vladimir's'.


	3. Reading Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 2

_Jill passed_ the book to Eddie and he began to read quickly.

**Chapter Two. **

**My hatred notwithstanding. I had to admit Dimitri Beli-whatever was pretty smart. After they'd carted us off to the airport to and into the Academy's private het, he'd taken one look at the two of us whispering and ordered us separated. **

"**Don't let them talk to each other," he warned the guardian who escorted me to the back of the plane. "Five minutes together, and they'll come up with an escape plan." **

**I shot him a haughty look and stormed off down the aisle. Never mind the fact we **_**had **_**been planning escape. **

"How did you know, they were?" Jill directed the question to Dimitri and in fact I was wondering the same thing.

"Seemed like something they would do. Especially since Rose had fed Lissa and still tried fighting with me. Rose is a fighter and would fight until she gets what she wants. You just got to realize that, and you can come to terms with how things work in her mind." I rolled my eyes at Dimitri and motioned for Eddie to read more.

**As it was, things didn't look good for our heroes-or heroines, rather. Once we were in the air, our odds of escape dropped further. Even supposing a miracle occurred and I did manage to take out all ten guardians, we'd sort of have a problem getting off the plane. I figured they might have parachutes aboard somewhere, but in the unlikely event I'd be able to operate one, there was still that little issue of survival, seeing as we'd probably land somewhere in the Rocky Mountains. No, we weren't getting off this plane until it landed in backwoods Montana. I'd have to think of something then, something that involved getting past the Academy's magical wards and ten times as many guardian. Yeah. No problem. **

"Note the sarcasm." Eddie glanced up, but ignored me and kept reading. Oh, so he is one of THOSE readers, just great.

**Although Lissa sat at the front with the Russian guy, her fear sang back to me, pounding inside**

"Shut it." I looked at Adrian who had his mouth opened, but quickly closed it.

**My head like a hammer. My concern for her cut into my fury. They couldn't take her back **_**there, **_**not to that place. I wondered if Dimitri might have hesitated if he could feel what I did and if he knew what I knew. **

"From what I know now, to what I knew then and actually would've believed it. Yes, I would have probably helped you escape." Dimitri said with a shrug like turning us lose probably wouldn't hurt his job.

**Probably not. He didn't care. As it was, her emotions grew so strong that for a moment, I had the disorienting sensation of sitting in her seat- in her **_**skin **_**even. It happened sometimes, and without much warning, she'd pull me right into her head. Dimitri's tall frame sat beside me, and my hand-**_**her**_** hand- gripped a bottle of water. He leaned forward to pick up something, revealing six tiny symbols tattooed on the back of his neck: **_**Molnija**_** marks, they looked like two streaks of jagged lightning crossing in an X symbol. **

**One for each Strigoi he'd killed. Above them was a twisting line, sort of like a snake, that marked him as a guardian. The promise mark. Blinking, I fought against her and shifted back into my own head with a grimace. I hated when that happened. **

"Well sometimes. I hate it when you're with Christian and I can't get out…" I made a face which made Lissa blush, Christian grin and almost everyone laughs.

**Feeling Lissa's emotions was one thing, but slipping into her was**

"Do you realize how many sexual phrase I could've said by now?" We all groaned.

"You know, maybe when you go to Alcohol and Drug rehab you should also go for being Sex addict." Christian looked slightly annoyed.

"Sex addict? Drug?" Adrian questions.

"You chain smoke. And all you think about it sex." I retorted.

"Not the only thing." Adrian mumbled, looking a little hurt.

**Something we both despised. She saw it as an invasion of privacy, so I usually didn't tell her when it happened. Neither of us could control it. It was another effect of the bond, a bond neither of us fully understood. Legends existed about psychic links between guardians and their Moroi, but the stories had never mentioned anything like this. We fumbled through it as best we could. Near the end of this flight, Dimitri walked back to where I sat and traded places with the guardian beside me. **

"At least we've gotten better at it, though." Lissa commented.

**I pointedly turned away, staring out the window absentmindedly. Several moments of silence passed. **

**Finally, he said, "Were you really going to attack all of us?" I didn't answer. **

"**Doing that…protecting her like that-it was very brave." He paused. "**_**Stupid**_**, but still brave. Why did you even try it?" **

**I glanced over at him, brushing my hair out of my face so I could look him levelly in the eye. **

"**Because I'm her guardian." I turned back toward the window. After another quiet moment, he stood up and returned to the front of the jet. **

"Thank god." I smiled and looked at Dimitri to let him know I was joking. I could tell he was joking, but he narrowed his eyes at me.

**When we landed, Lissa and I had no choice but to let the commandos drive us out to the Academy. Our car stopped at the gate, and our driver spoke with guards who verified we weren't Strigoi about to go off on a killing spree. After a minute, they let us pass on through the wards and up to the Academy itself. **

"Home sweet Home." I rolled my eyes.

**It was around sunset- the start of the vampiric day- and the campus lay wrapped in shadows. It probably looked the same, sprawling and gothic. The Moroi were big on tradition; nothing ever changed with them. This school wasn't as old as the ones back in Europe, but it had been built in the same style. The buildings boasted elaborate, almost churchlike architecture, with high peaks and stone cravings. Wrought iron gates enclosed small gardens and doorways here and there. After living on a college campus, I had a new appreciation for just how much this place resembled a university more than a typical high school. **

"Detailed much?" Christian asked looking freaked out. I stick out my tongue at him.

**We were on the secondary campus, which was divided into lower and upper schools. Each was built around a large open quad, which had academic buildings on one side, while Dhampir dormitories and the gym sat opposite. Moroi dorms sat on one of the other ends, and opposite them were the administrative buildings that also served the lower school. Younger students lived on the primary campus, farther to the west. **

**Around all the campuses was space, space, and more space. We were in Montana, after all, miles away from any real city. The air felt cool in my lungs and smelled of pine and wet, decaying leaves. Overgrown forests ringed the perimeters of the Academy, and during the day, you could see mountains rising up in the distance. **

"How the hell do you notice all this stuff?" Of course Christian asked.

"Guardian in training." I pointed to myself.

**As we walked into the main part of the upper school, I broke from my guardian and ran up to Dimitri. **

"**Hey, Comrade." He kept walking and wouldn't look at me. **

"**You want to talk now?" **

"Duh." I mumbled, rolling my eyes a bit.

"**Are you taking us to Kirova?"**

"_**Headmistress **_**Kirova," he corrected. On the other side of him, Lissa shot me a look that said, **_**don't start something. **_

"**Headmistress. Whatever. She's still a self-righteous old bit-" **

"Rose." My mother chaise. I rolled my eyes.

"I didn't finish the word. I was interrupted." I grinned at her at the end of the sentence.

**My words faded as the guardians led us through a set of doors-straight into the commons. I sighed. Were these people **_**really **_**so cruel?**

"Did you really have to do that?" I turned to question Dimitri.

"Order to do so."

"You know, breaking the rules is fun." He didn't return an answer.

**There had to be at least a dozen ways to get to Kirova's office, and they were taking us right through the center of the commons. And it was breakfast time. Novice guardians-dhampirs like me- and Moroi sat together; eating and socializing, faces alight with whatever current gossip held the Academy's attention. When we entered, the loud buzz of conversation stopped instantly, like someone had flipped a switch. **

**Hundreds of sets of eyes swiveled toward us. I returned the stares of my former classmates with a lazy grin, trying to get a sense as to whether things had changed. **

"Did it?" Eddie questioned, strictly curious. I pointed to the book that was in his lap.

**Nope. Didn't seem like it. Camille Contac still looked like the prim, perfectly groomed bitch I remembered, still the self-appointed leader of the Academy's royal Moroi cliques. Off to the side, Lissa's gawky near-cousin Natalie watched with wide eyes, as innocent and naive as before. **

Eddie stopped, which caused as awkward silence. Innocent and Naïve? Her father basically used her because she wanted to know about Lissa. She went along with it completely trusting him and didn't think that what she was doing was wrong. So yes, she still was innocent and Naïve. After Adrian cleared his throat Eddie began reading again.

**And on the other side of the room…well, that was interesting. Aaron. Poor, poor Aaron, who'd no doubt had his heart broken when Lissa left. He still looked as cute as ever-maybe more so now- with those same golden looks that complemented hers so well. His eyes followed her every move. Yes. Definitely not over her. **

I see Christian pull Lissa closer to his side.

"Territorial much?" I looked over at them, trying and probably failing to hide a smile. Yeah, Christian is the way better choice for her than Aaron. Lissa giggled as Christian glared at me.

**It was sad, really, because Lissa had never really been all that into him. I think she'd gone out with him simply because it seemed like the expected thing to do. **

Lissa smiles at Christian who was slightly smiling back at her. I looked at Eddie, to Jill, to Adrian then we all rolled our eyes.

"You two are annoying lovey dovey." I scrunched up my nose in a discussed look. Lissa turns to me a playful annoyed look.

"Okay. When you get a boyfriend and become like us. I am SO picking on you." I rolled my eyes, using my will power not to turn and smile at Dimitri. One because I know Dimitri was more of a closet romantic and didn't like PDA, so that made it difficult for her to 'pick' on me whenever she finds out about… well… whatever Dimitri and I have. Apparently I've been thinking to long as when I started listening again…

**Most of our escorts left us once Lissa and I were seated, and I felt a little less like a prisoner. Only Alberta, the captain of the school's guardians, and Dimitri stayed. They took up positions along the wall, looking stoic and terrifying, just as their job description required. **

"Which, stops working when you train with one every day." I smirked at Dimitri who had his 'guardian' mask but amusement in his eyes.

**Kirova fixed her angry eyes on us and opened her mouth to begin what would no doubt be a major bitch session. A deep, gentle voice stopped her. **

"**Vasilisa." Startled, I realized there was someone else in the room. I hadn't noticed. Careless for a guardian, even a novice one. **

"So you're detailed through this whole crap. But you forget to see who else is in the room?" Again, Christian opened his mouth. I shrug.

**With a great deal of effort, Victor Dashkov**

Looking around everyone faces showed anger, pain, distrust, but Abe's. As he probably didn't hear, but it was big news so maybe he didn't know Victor and how much we trusted him.

**Rose from a corner chair. **_**Prince **_**Victor Dashkov. Lissa sprang up and ran to him, throwing her arms around his frail body. **

"**Uncle," she whispered. She sounded on the verge of tears as she tightened her grip. With a small smile, he gently patted her back. **

"**You have no idea how glad I am to see you safe, Vasilisa." He toward me. "And you too, Rose." I nodded back, trying to hide how shocked I was. He'd been sick when we left, but this-this was **_**horrible. **_

"I thought so too. But I just wanted to hug him and not care that he looked like he was collapsed then and there." Lissa whispered. I patted her shoulder.

"Well… he is kind of healthier…now…" I didn't know how to word the sentence, being detrayed by him was hard on Lissa. But Novices… Guardians learn and know that you can't trust someone easily even if you know them for years.

"Only because he kidnapped her and almost killed me and you in the process." Christian growled. I shrug.

"When aren't we getting almost killed, exactly?"

"Not the point." I rolled my eyes, Eddie read on knowing a fight between Christian and I was about to begin if something or someone didn't stop us.

**He was Natalie's father, only about forty or so, but he looked twice that age. Pale. Withered. Hands shaking. My heart broke watching him. With all the horrible people in the world, it didn't seem fair that this guy should get a disease that was going to kill him young and ultimately keep him from becoming king.**

"Now, I don't think along those lines. Someone who… would be a great King wouldn't have done that. No matter what, he should've accepted his faith and dealt with it." I shook my head.

"I wouldn't justify anything he has done. But basically the only thing he did wrong was the way he went about this whole thing. Kidnapping Lissa, torturing her into healing him, which ultimately tortured you because you were in her head. And having Natalie turn into a Strigoi to get him out. I am not sure I understand his reasoning's… but nobody wants to die." Adrian said I wasn't surprise he knew this he was the Queen's nephew and she probably didn't care that he was in the room during some of the meetings. Though they kept our bond amongst only the Queen, a few guardians who knew about our bond and us a secret. I knew he knew I was in Lissa's head that night or I wouldn't have been able to find her.

"That's life."

**Although not technically her uncle-the Moroi used family terms very loosely, especially the royals- Victor was a close friend of Lissa's family and had gone out of his way to help her after her parents had died. I like him, he was the first person I was happy to see here. Kirova let them have a few more moments and then stiffly drew Lissa back to her seat. Time for the lecture. **

I groaned and leaned back against the chair I was sitting in, staring up at the ceiling.

"I want to know how you're even passing your classes." Christian commented.

"Easy. I am smart." He rolled his eyes.

**It was a good one-one of Kirova's best, which was saying something. She was a master at them. I swear that was the only reason she'd gone into school administration, because I had yet to see any evidence of her actually **_**liking **_**kids. The rant covered the usual topics: responsibility, reckless behavior, self-centeredness…bleh. **

"I stand corrected. Why do you even attend classes if you don't listen?" I didn't bother answering Christian this time.

**I immediately found myself spacing out, alternatively pondering the logistics of escaping through the window in her office. But when the tirade shifted to me- well, that was when I tuned back in. "You, Miss Hathaway, broke the most sacred promise among our kind: the promise of a guardian to protect a Moroi. It is a great trust.**

"Okay. Okay. Okay. I agree with her about being stupid. But you were protecting her, hell you protected Mia and Christian along with me when we were in Spokane. You protect people you love no matter what. I want to know, how could see not see that." Eddie commented.

"Because she didn't know, I took to rap for everything that happened. I said I did it, you guys let me take the heat. Honestly, I didn't want you guys to get in trouble for something that was completely stupid in the first place." I looked at Dimitri and mom. Dimitri knew I did things like that, but mom was completely surprised.

**A trust that you violated by selfishly taking the princess away from here. The Strigoi would love to finish off the Dragomirs; **_**you **_**nearly enabled them to do it." **

"**Rose didn't kidnap me." Lissa spoke before I could, her voice and face calm, despite her uneasy feelings. "I wanted to go. Don't blame her." Ms. Kirova **_**tsked**_** at us both and paced the office, hands folded behind her narrow back. **

"**Miss Dragomir, you could have been the one who orchestrated the entire plan for all I know, but it was still **_**her**_** responsibility to make sure you didn't carry it out. If she'd done her duty, she would have notified someone. If she'd done her duty, she would have kept you safe."**

"Must've made you mad." Jill mumbled. I nod.

**I snapped. **

"**I **_**did **_**do my duty!" I shouted, jumping up from my chair. Dimitri and Alberta both flinched but left me alone since I wasn't trying to hit anyone. **

"Yet." Adrian said, pointing a finger at me.

**Yet.**

Adrian smirked at me, while Christian and Eddie chuckled.

"**I did keep her safe! I kept her safe when none of **_**you**_**" – I made a sweeping gesture around the room- "could do it. I took her away to protect her. I did what I had to do. You certainly weren't going to." Through the bond, I felt Lissa trying to send me calming messages, again urging me not to let anger get the best of me. **

**Too late. **

**Kirova stared at me, her face blank. "Miss Hathaway, forgive me if I fail to see the logic of how taking her out of a heavily guarded, magically secured environment if protecting her. Unless there's something you aren't telling us?" I bit my lip. **

"**I see. Well, then. By my estimation, the only reason you left-aside from the novelty of it, no doubt- was to avoid the consequences of that horrible, destructive stunt you pulled just before your disappearance."**

"**No, that's not-" **

"**And that only makes my decision that much easier. As a Moroi, princess must continue on here at the Academy for her own safety, but we have no such obligations to you. You will be sent away as soon as possible." **

"Bet she is eating those words, now." Eddie said smiling at me. I gave a toothy smiled back.

"Just think if she actually went away. Victor would've gotten away with it and four students would be dead." Christian gave me a semi-complement.

"Or not. Mason found out about Spokane through me. So, Mason wouldn't be dead if I was sent away. Christian you wouldn't have left-"

"No, Mason probably would've went anyway it goes." Eddie said sighing, then shaking his head and continuing with the book.

**My cockiness dried up.**

"**I…what?" Lissa stood up beside me. "You can't do that! She's my guardian." **

"**She is no such thing, particularly since she isn't even a guardian at all. She's still a novice." **

"**But my parents-" **

"**I know what your parents wanted, God rest their souls, but things have changed. Miss Hathaway is expendable. She doesn't deserve to be a guardian, and she will leave." I stared at Kirova, unable to believe what I was hearing. **

"**Where are you going to send me? To my mom in Nepal? Did she even know I was gone? Or maybe you'll send me off to my **_**father**_**?" Her eyes narrowed at the bite in that last word. **

My Parents exchanged glances. I sighed.

"Gesh, guys can you be even more conspicuous? I already know he is my father, just say it." Mom looked slightly taken back before putting on her guardian mask. Abe had this smile on his face that could or would scare anyone that was easily immediate and then looked at mom. When they didn't say anything, I did which was how I figured it out.

"One, mom. You told me my father's name was Ibraham. Two, Old man. You didn't hide your glances at the Nazar you gave to mom, which she gave to me like you recognized it. Three, Old man. When Eddie said my last name, you glanced up surprised but quickly looked away hoping no one saw that tiny movement. Four, Parents. I look like the Old Man."

"Who are you calling 'Old Man', Little girl?"

"Obliviously you. _Old man." _ He narrowed his eyes at me, glaring. While I did the same. We didn't stop until mom waved a hand in front of his face and told us to stop acting childish. My friends looked a little shocked.

"I don't want to be stuck down here with two Roses." Christian whined, I snickered.

"Don't tell me that, tell the person who locked you down here." He started mumbling under his breath and all I caught was 'annoying' 'get out' and 'glaring'. Mom ordered Eddie to keep reading and then told me we will all talk about it later. _Great. _

**When I spoke again, my voice was so cold, I barely recognized it. "Or maybe you're going to try to send me off to be a blood whore. Try that, and we'll be gone by the end of the day."**

Out of the corner of my eye I saw Abe glaring at the book.

"**Miss Hathaway," she hissed, "You are out of line." **

"**They have a bond." Dimitri's low, accented voice broke the heavy tension, and we all turned toward him. I think Kirova had forgotten he was there, but I hadn't. His presence was way too powerful to ignore. **

"I bet." Adrian looked between us. I was going to say something back, but a hole opened in the wall, fill of our foods. Since it was about lunch now, or at least this was our second meal for the day. Eddie marked the page and we all passed out the food and then Eddie continued to read while we ate. Letting that argument drop quickly.

**He still stood against the wall, looking like some sort of cowboy sentry-**

"Seriously Rose?" Dimitri asked shaking his head.

"Maybe if you stop reading Westerners, stop wearing this duster" I pointed at his duster on my body. Going to open my mouth again, mom cut in.

"Why are you wearing his duster?"

"I was taken when I was working out. All I have under this is shorts and a sports bra. So he gave it to me to cover up and… stay warm?" I looked at Dimitri not knowing the real reason he gave it to me. He nods.

"As you noticed Guardian Hathaway it this oddly cold in here and all she had was a blanket when I was dropped in here." Mom nods, and Abe looks between us looking like he was trying to figure something out.

"Anyways, and stop listening to country and 80s music I wouldn't think that." He rolled his eyes at me because he knew I always teased him about his taste in music and books. I didn't mind the duster as I found it hot.

**In that ridiculous long coat of his. **

"That ridiculous long coat of mine, is keeping you warm at this moment." Dimitri pointed out, I crossed my arms my chest and glared at him.

"You guys sound like a married couple." Jill commented, looking between us. I turned my head to look at Jill, shocked that she had said that. I tried to think of something to cover why we sound like that, but I couldn't. Thankfully Adrian did. _Wait did I just say thankfully and Adrian in the same sentence?_

"They're together most of the day. Working out and whatever they do. Not to mention they will be Lissa's guardians together. And Rose is a hand full and likes arguing for the sake of arguing-"

"HEY!"

"See." He said ignoring me.

"I do not argue for the sake of arguing Ivashkov." I narrowed my eyes at him.

"Could've fooled me."

"I am not afraid of kicking your ass, Adrian."

"Is that a promise?"

"Now, YOU TWO sound like a married couple." My face must've been pretty funny because everyone busted out laughing. After Eddie stopped laughing he read more as to stop the arguing any further.

**He looked at me, not Lissa, his dark eyes staring straight through me. "Rose knows what Vasilisa is feeling. Don't you?" I at least had the satisfaction of seeing Kirova caught off guard as she glanced between us and Dimitri. **

"**No… that's impossible. That hasn't happened in centuries." **

"**It's obvious," he said. "I suspected as soon as I started watching them." Neither Lissa nor I responded, and I averted my from his. **

"**That is a gift," murmured Victor from his corner. "A rare and wonderful thing." **

"**The best guardians always had that bond," added Dimitri. "In the stories." **

**Kirova's outrage returned. "Stories that are centuries old," she exclaimed. "Surely you aren't suggesting we let her stay at the Academy after everything she's done?" **

**He shrugged. "She might be wild and disrespectful, but if she has potential-"**

"**Wild and disrespectful?" I interrupted. "Who the hell are you anyway? Outsourced help?"**

"Ouch." Adrian said at the same time my mom yelled "Rosemarie." I rolled my eyes.

"Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I know. Can we please read on and forget I just proved that."

"**Guardian Belikov is the princess's guardian now," said Kirova. "Her **_**sanctioned **_**guardian." **

"**You got cheap foreign labor to protect Lissa?"**

"Jesus Rose, lay the insults thick why don't you?" Eddie looked up at me.

"You know. I am just being Rose." I smiled at him, which usually had guys and men eating out of the palm of my hand. "And besides, I hated him for bring us back."

"You don't hate him now?" Jill questioned.

"I hate him less." Lissa sighed saying _I wish you get along with other people besides me and Eddie. _

"Hey, I do when I have to, Liss." She shook her head as Jill, mom, and Abe looked a little creped out as they weren't use to one sided conversations like the rest of us were.

"You know what I wish?" Christian pipped in. "That you two stop having one-sided conversations. It gets a little confusing." Everyone nods and probably whatever Lissa was about to say died off the tip of her tongue.

**That was pretty mean of me to say-particularly since most Moroi and their guardians were of Russian or Romanian descent- but the comment seemed cleverer at the time than it really was. **

"Rose… eating her words? Never thought I would see the day." I rolled my eyes at Christian.

**And it wasn't like I was one to talk. I might have been raised in the U.S., but my parents were foreign-born. My Dhampir mother was Scottish-red-haired, with a ridiculous accent- and I'd been told my Moroi dad was Turkish. That genetic combination had given me skin the same color as the inside of an almond, along with what I liked to think were semi-exotic desert-princess features: big dark eyes and hair so deep brown that it usually looked black. **

"Features, you know how to use." Adrian mumbled, looking me up and down, like he was checking me out.

"You know, I think I liked you better when you were drunk and passed out."

"Oh, I do to. Everyone's auras are so bright in this confined space, it's a wonder how I am even surviving."

"Apparently you are managing better than you thought you would without the crap."

"Only because I have to, Rose. At this moment I could be in my room, filled with bottles passed out or roaming the halls of the school." Before I opened my mouth, once again, Eddie began to read.

**I wouldn't have minded inheriting the red hair, but we take what we get. Kirova threw her hands up in exasperation and turned to him. **

"**You see? Completely undisciplined! All the psychic bonds and **_**very**_** raw potential in the world can't make up for that. A guardian without discipline is worse than no guardian."**

"Still haven't figured the discipline thing out." I said matter-of-factly.

"You learned some of it, but it hasn't clicked for you." Dimitri said, looking like he was trying to figure out a way for it _to _click.

"Comrade! Don't think of ways for it to click." He raised his eyebrow.

"And why not?"

"Cause right now we are god knows where. Thinking of teaching ways right now is against most of the point of all of this." He didn't answer.

"**So teach her discipline. Classes just started. Put her back in and get her training again." **

"**Impossible. She'll still be hopelessly behind her peers." **

"**No, I won't," I argued. No one listened to me. **

"**Then give her extra training sessions," he said. They continued on while the rest of us watched the exchanged like it was a Ping-Pong game. My pride was still hurt over the ease with which Dimitri had tricked us, but it occurred to me that he might very well keep me here with Lissa. **

"Look someone who can put down Rose." The smirking Christian said.

"Oh, I wouldn't be talking BUNNY!" He looked mortified as Lissa giggled. I had 'moaned' the nickname Lissa once called him while they were _at it_ in the attic of the church. I laughed, I assume he figured since I knew about that, he better shut up as I knew more embarrassing things that could hurt HIS pride.

"Rose, I think you are my new best friend." Eddie said smiling. We both liked picking on Christian, more so me than him. As the has kind of grown up since Mason, we both have but it was like it had finally clicked that all this playing could get him killed one day.

"But. I thought we were already best friends." I stick out my bottom lip almost in a pouting way and made my eyes big as like a puppy dog looked. He sighed.

"I'm sorry Rose, you're right. Forgive me?" I smiled huge at Eddie and nod.

"Sure thing, bestie!" Eddie chuckled but read on.

**Better to stay at this hellhole than be without her. Through our bond, I could feel her trickle of hope. **

"**Who's going to put in the extra time?" demanded Kirova. "You?" **

**Dimitri's argument came to an abrupt stop. "Well, that's not what I-"**

**Kirova crossed her arms with satisfaction. "Yes. That's what I thought." Clearly at a loss, he frowned. His eyes flicked toward Lissa and me, and I wondered what he saw. Two pathetic girls, looking at him with big, pleading eyes? Or two runaways who'd broken out of a high-security school and swiped half of Lissa's inheritance?"**

"Wait HALF of it?" Jill asked with big eyes. Lissa smiled, it was sad but it was a smile.

"After my parents and brother died I got everything. Andre's inheritance. My parent's money, everything that was passed down through the years. I have. It's frozen until I get out school now though" Eddie continued to read.

"**Yes," he said finally. "I can mentor Rose. I'll give her extra sessions along with her normal ones." **

"Wait, so that's how you two…" Adrian didn't finish whatever he was going to say, I but shrugged.

"I guess."

"**And then what?" retorted Kirova angrily. "She goes unpunished?" **

"**Find some other way to punish her," answered Dimitri. "Guardian numbers have gone down too much to risk losing another. A girl, in particular." His unspoken words made me shudder, reminding me of my earlier statement about "blood whores." Few Dhampir girls become guardians anymore. **

**Victor suddenly spoke up from his corner. "I'm inclined to agree with Guardian Belikov. Sending Rose away would be a shame, a waste of talent." **

"What did he think he could get out of this…I mean speaking up for you to stay?" Eddie asks.

"When he kidnapped Lissa. Give him someone to balm it on when she didn't show up."

**Ms. Kirova stared out her window. It was completely black outside. With the Academy's nocturnal schedule, **_**morning**_** and **_**afternoon**_** were relative terms. That, and they kept the windows tinted to block out excess light. When she turned back around, Lissa met her eyes. **

"**Please, Ms. Kirova. Let Rose stay." **_**Oh, Lissa, **_**I thought.**_** Be careful. **_**Using compulsion on another Moroi was dangerous-particularly in front of witnesses. **

"Did you notice?" I turned to Dimitri.

"I had a suspension but I couldn't say for sure."

**But Lissa was only using a tiny bit, and we needed all the help we could get. Fortunately, no one seemed to realize what was happening. **

**I don't even know if the compulsion made a difference, but finally, Kirova sighed. "If Miss Hathaway stays, here's how it will be." **

**She turned to me. "Your continued enrollment at St. Vladimir's is strictly probationary. Step out of line **_**once**_**, and you're gone. You will attend all classes and required trainings for novices your age. You will also train with Guardian Belikov in every spare moment you have-before **_**and **_**after classes. Other than that, you are banned from all social activities, except meals, and will stay in your dorm. Fail to comply with any of this, and you will be sent…away." **

"Rules, I bet you break or broke." Adrian smiled at me, like he knew something I didn't.

"You know it."

"Can you at least pretend that you follow rules." My mother said.

"Oh, I am sorry." I cleared my throat. "Rules and laws are meant for a reason. Everyone must follow them because it doesn't cause problems. But that would be boring. It's a-"

"Smartass." Christian said laughing along with the rest of my friends. Even Abe chuckled, but mom and Dimitri didn't look even slightly amused.

**I gave a harsh laugh. "Banned from all social activities? Are you trying to keep us apart?" I nodded toward Lissa. "Afraid we'll run away again?" **

"**I'm taking precautions. As I'm sure you recall, you were never properly punished for destroying school property. You have a lot to make up for." Her thin lips tightened into a straight line. **

"**You are being offered a very generous deal. I suggest you don't let your attitude endanger it." I started to say it wasn't generous at all, but then I caught Dimitri's gaze. It was hard to read. He might have been telling me he believed in me. He might have been telling me I was an idiot to keep fighting with Kirova. I didn't know. **

"Both. Actually."

**Looking away from him for the second time during the meeting, I stared at the floor, conscious of Lissa beside me and her own encouragement burning in our bond. At long last, I exhaled and glanced back up at the headmistress. "Fine. I accept." **


	4. Reading Chapter 3

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 3

_(Lissa POV)_

_Eddie passed _the book over to Christian, though I could tell he clearly didn't want to read.

**Chapter three. **

**Sending us straight to class our meeting seemed beyond cruel-**

I wouldn't say cruel, but I would've like at least a day to get use to living back on campus.

**I honestly couldn't believe he was still around. The guy was so freaking old, he should have retired. Or died. **

_Oh, Rose. _I sent through the bond, shaking my head at her when she looked over at me.

**He compared those against my old file and hastily scrawled out a new schedule. I took it sullenly and headed out to my first class. 1****st**** period: Advanced Guardian Combat Techniques, 2****nd**** period: Bodyguard Theory and Personal Protection 3, 3****rd**** Period: Weight Training and Conditioning, 4****th**** period: Senior Language Arts (Novice), Lunch, 5****th**** Period: Animal behavior and Physiology, 6****th**** period: Precalculus, 7****th**** period: Moroi Culture 4, 8****th**** period: Salavic Art. **

**Ugh. I'd forgotten how long the Academy's school day was. **

I was slightly overwhelmed that morning as well. I-we both- were so use to the human schedule and going to class for about eight hours and four classes a day with an hour and thirty minutes in each class. Also the whole time, I was wondering how Rose was taking to this again. I knew she would be able to handle it, but she would get so much from people who didn't understand. Especially from her teachers, the Guardians.

**Scanning the staring, openmouthed novices, I looked for a familiar face. Most of them were gone. One caught my eye, and I could barely hold back my grin. **

It took me a moment, to realize who she was talking about but smiled when I soon realized.

"**Hey Mason, wipe the drool off your face. If you're going to think about me naked, do it on your own time." A few snorts and snickers broke the awed silence, and Mason Ashford snapped out of his haze, giving me a lopsided smile. With red hair that stuck up everywhere and a smattering of freckles, he was nice-looking, though not exactly hot. **

I see Eddie glance, questioningly at Rose, who looked slightly guilty before she put up this mask I couldn't read. I wonder what she happened to feel guilty about. I know Mason and her STARTED this thing, but I thought it didn't go that far into the relationship to do anything. I could possibly be underestimating Mason's feelings for Rose.

"**This **_**is**_** my time, Hathaway. I'm leading today's session." **

"**Oh yeah?" I retorted. "Huh. Well, I guess this is a good time to think about me naked, then."**

"**It's **_**always**_** a good a time to think about you naked," added someone nearby, breaking the tension further. Eddie Castile. Another friend of mine. **

"You threes relationship is something else, you know that?" I said. "You can joke all you want about anything. Sex, gross stuff, anything basically you guys were just that close. And it didn't bother you guys. Well, you Rose. I am pretty sure, two boys around you all the time can… uh.. be a little…protective." Rose laughed slightly but nods. Eddie shakes his head, but I can see a small smile on his face.

"My two best guy friends. Basically You, Eddie, and Mason were my only friends. And the only reason you think that, is because you blushed at everything we talked about that was sexual. And looked like you were going to throw up if we talked about 'gross stuff'. I think it's just because you aren't confident enough about your body or sex not to get embarrassed. Is Pyro not doing his job? And besides that, yeah they can get protective I just thought of it as older brother stuff if that happened." I couldn't help it, I blushed and Christian started chuckling at the part of Christian 'not doing' his job.

"See," she motioned towards my face. "Blushing."

"I think you get along better with guys though." She shrugs.

"I am in a Male dominated job and pretty much have no choice but to get along with them most of the time. Besides, a lot of the other guys just wanted to talk to me to see if they can get some. They wanted my body. Guys want you for what your name is… except Fire brains there. Who fell for… well fell for you." I smiled at Christian who was looking a little amused, but smiled at me. After a moment, Christian started reading again.

**Dimitri shook his head and walked off, muttering something in Russian-**

"What did you say, anyways?" Rose asked Dimitri. He just looked at Rose and shook his head.

"You know, it is rude to speak Russian when someone doesn't understand you. Especially when it is about that person." Something told me they have had this conversation a couple times.

"Read, so they don't start arguing why he hasn't taught her Russian." I whispered in Christian's ear, and he did. Cutting off anything Dimitri was about to say to her about the matter.

**That didn't sound complimentary. But as for me…well, just like that, I was one of the novices again. They were an easy going bunch.**

"Honestly. A lot of us missed you Rose. You were our entertainment."

"Glad to have insisted you in that." Rose gave a smile, which told me she knew she had entertained them multiple times. Adrian, who had been oddly quiet hadn't said a word, so I looked over at him he seemed to be focusing on Dimitri, Rose, and Eddie. I could tell by the look of concentration, he was probably looking at their auras or trying to will them to go away. I still hadn't learned to see auras; it is taking a good deal of power to do something that came easily to him. So easily he saw them all the time and couldn't help it.

"**Come on, Hathaway," he said, taking my arm. "You can be my partner. Let's see what you've been doing all this time." **

**An hour later, he had his answer. "Not practicing, huh?" **

"**Ow," I groaned, momentarily incapable of normal speech. He extended a hand and helped me up from the mat he'd knocked me down on-about fifty times. **

"That was fun to watch." Eddie chuckled. Rose glared at him, but Eddie kept smiling. He wasn't as easygoing since Mason's death and there were few times were he seemed like him old self, but usually he wasn't all laughs and smiles. He threw himself into fighting and school and this selected group of friends.

"Oh, really, what to spar? Bet I can kick your ass now." Rose was smirking an 'I know you won't agree' way. Eddie shook his head.

"I don't need you to kick my ass, to know you can." He said oddly serious. Rose rolled her eyes and motioned for Christian to move on.

"**I hate you," I told him, rubbing a spot on my thigh that was going to have a wicked bruise tomorrow. **

"**You'd hate me more if I held back." **

"**Yeah, that's true," I agreed, staggering along as the class put the equipment back. **

"**You actually did okay." **

"**What? I just had my ass handed to me." **

"**Well, of course you did. It's been two years. But hey, you're still walking. That's something." He grinned mockingly. **

"**Did I mention I hate you?" He flashed me another smile, which quickly faded to something more serious. "Don't take this the wrong way…I mean, you really are a scrapper, but there's no way you'll be able to take your trails in the spring-" **

Rose and Eddie, semi groaned as just to realized, that them being here will put them behind some. Not by much, but every little moment counted, apparently.

"**They're making me take extra practice sessions," I explained. Not that it mattered. I planned on getting Lissa and me out of here before these practices really became an issue. "I'll be ready." **

"**Extra sessions with who?" **

"**That tall guy. Dimitri." **

**Mason stopped walking and stared at me. "You're putting in extra time with Belikov?" **

"**Yeah, so what?" **

"**So the man is a **_**god.**_**"**

"That's where you got that from." Dimitri muttered so low I almost did not catch it.

"Deal with it Comrade. Cause it isn't going away." Dimitri pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed almost exasperated. Sometimes I feel sorry for Dimitri he has to teach Rose and I know all too well how she deals with teachers. But they seem to have a good working relationship. At first I didn't know how he would deal with Rose's stubbornness and personality but he seemed to be doing just fine or at least had gotten used to it. I hadn't noticed Christian had started reading until I heard.

"**I mean **_**exactly **_**what I say, Hathaway. Go to the front of the class." **

This does NOT sound good.

**Refusing to crack, I strode up to the front of the room and turned to face the class. I gave them a bold look and tossed my hair over my shoulders, earning a few sympathetic smiled from my friends. I then noticed I had a larger audience than expected. A few guardians-including Dimitri-lingered in the back of the room. **

For some reason, I couldn't get their bond out of my head. I know it was a working relationship. But, starting to read this book and then hearing or watching their reaction, sometimes it seems more… Though I know, Rose would not do that- go for someone older than her as she didn't even try going for people our own age. I think it is just being to focus on trying to learn how to protect me better.

"**Er…no."**

Confused I looked over to where Christian held the book and saw that I have been slightly out of it for a while and they read about a page in a half.

**No way was I going to let this jerk make me cry. Looking away from him, I tried to focus on something else. My eyes rested on Dimitri and the other guardians. They were watching my humiliation, stone-faced. **

"Honestly. I think Stan should've just left it alone." Dimitri commented. "You obliviously knew you did something wrong. You didn't regret it, but you knew and understood. He was just making matters worse."

"True. But he also wanted some sort of pay back. Alto HATES Rose, with a passion. Rose is kind of at fault for the hatred thing, but he just wanted to get back at her." Eddie said looking with pity, I think, at Rose. Christian continued, looking slightly bored.

"**Moroi blood," I whispered. **

"**What was that?" asked Stan loudly. "I didn't catch it." I spun back around to face him. **

"**Moroi blood! Moroi blood makes them stronger." He nodded in satisfaction and took a few steps back. **

I didn't think Rose would've gotten THAT much heat for doing as I asked. I was scared and I didn't know what to do. I was supposed to be protected inside the wards. I was supposed to be protected at school, yet I wasn't. Even Ms. Karp knew and told us to leave. Though I- now know- it was because she and I had to same powers.

"**And you don't think that was unfair?" **

"**Was he right? Do you think you were fully prepared to protect Vasilisa?" I looked down at the ground. **

"**I kept her alive," I mumbled. **

"**How did you do fighting against your classmates today?" The question was mean. I didn't answer and knew I didn't need to. I'd had another training class after Stan's, and no doubt Dimitri had watched me get beat up there too. **

"Merely, seeing what I had to work with," Dimitri said in a demanding voice that kind of scares me. It was like just that voice, you knew he could do damaged. You didn't have to see him do anything, but hearing that voice you knew he meant business and would stick by it. His next words were softer. "Helping you realize that it wasn't enough, no matter what. I said or anyone else said to you. Made you hurt. Was to help you, make you stronger. Basically giving you something to prove to other people. Everyone knew you didn't like to be down played so it would've made you work harder. Make sure you were and are ready for spring trails."

He stopped and looked at Rose. "Which you are. Maybe add more discipline and a few more tweaks here and there and you'll be a good guardian for Princess." They way Rose looked, I knew Dimitri didn't give her a lot of compliments. Adrian cleared his throat and gave them a pointed look, which confused me for a moment but I didn't say anything. Christian took that moment to continue with the reading.

"**If you can't fight **_**them**_**-" **

"**Yeah, yeah, I know," I snapped. He slowed his long stride-**

"Do you have to be so tall?" Rose interrupted. Dimitri gave her a look but didn't say anything.

"I am pretty sure you can blame genetics there, Rose." Adrian commented. He leaned back and placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes like he was going to take a nap.

**To match my pain-filled one. "You're strong and fast by nature. You just need to keep yourself trained. Didn't you play any sports while you were gone?" **

"**Sure," I shrugged. "Now and then." **

"**You didn't join any teams?" **

"She did, but then she quite because she and the coach didn't see eye to eye on some things." Mostly at how to train and the water drinking, and what play to use during the games. Mostly she argued over stupid things and got punished into running the rest of the practice and most of the next one.

"**Lissa, call her Lissa," I corrected. She hated her full name, much preferring the Americanized nickname. He walked away, and suddenly, I didn't feel like such a badass anymore. **

Again I couldn't help but feel sorry. Rose took a lot of what was my problem. Not once did she complain, but apparently she did… well not out loud or to me. I can hear it in the thoughts she was having basically. But I know she didn't regret any of it. If it was to protect me, she would do anything. Even if it meant getting in trouble for me… which had been proven.

**I nodded, not sure what else to say. He was more Lissa's friend than mine. **

"I like how you use 'Lissa's friend'." Adrian air quoted. I knew then who they were talking about.

"He kind of was…" I mumbled, not only did I trust Uncle Victor and loved him he was there. But honestly he took that too far as to think I wouldn't have healed him, when he asked.

"**Well, it's not like I faced down strigoi or anything." I said. **

"**But you faced down some things?" **

"**Sure. The school sent psi-hounds once."**

"Yeah. But YOU sent them, not the school." Rose shook her head glaring at the book and Dimitri gave her a look that I couldn't read, but she did. No one really said anything, but looked confused at the little conversation, so Christian read on.

"**Remarkable." **

"**Not really. Avoiding them was pretty easy." **

**He laughed. "I've hunted with them before.-**

"He just gave me what I needed to know the school didn't send them." Rose shot her hands in the air, looking almost fed up with her- kind of- stupidity.

**They aren't **_**that**_** easy to evade, not with their powers and intelligence." It was true. Psi-hounds were one of many types magical creatures that wandered the world, creatures that humans never knew about or else didn't believe they'd really seen. The hounds traveled in packs and shared a sort of physic communication that made them particularly deadly to their prey-as did the fact that they resembled mutant wolves. **

"**Did you face anything else?" **

**I shrugged. "Little things here and there."**

"**Remarkable," he repeated. **

"**Lucky, I think. It turns out I'm really behind in all this guardian stuff." I sounded just like Stan now. **

Eddie laughs. "Only because you said he was right in a way."

"**You're a smart girl. You'll catch up. And you also have your bond." I looked away. My ability to "feel" Lissa had been such a secret for so long, it felt weird to have others know about it. **

"**The histories are full of stories of guardian who could feel when their charges were in danger," Victor commented. "I've made a hobby of studying up on it and some of the ancient ways. I've heard it's a tremendous asset." **

"**I guess." I shrugged. **_**What a boring hobby,**_

"Most likely knew about bonds or someone he knew that had a bond." Dimitri looked thoughtful for a moment, before he looked like he dismissed the thought. Spirit was not an easy power to find from people. Or not many people have put it out that they HAVE spirit and keep it a secret. Some people, like Victor, may not be the only one who wanted to save themselves.

**I shook my head. His face shone with wonder. "How did it happen?" **

"**I don't know," I said, still glancing away. "Just started two years ago." **

**He frowned. "Near the time of the accident?"**

"Gave him everything he needed right there." Rose groaned. I didn't blame her for anything that happened though. He did sounded strictly curious about the power, not suspicious in any way. But looks and apparently sounds could be deicing.

**Hesitantly, I nodded. The accident was **_**not **_**something I wanted to talk about, that was for sure. Lissa's memories were bad enough without my own mixing into them. Twisted metal. A sensation of hot, then cold, then hot again. Lissa screaming over me, screaming for me to wake up, screaming for her parents and her brother to wake up. None of them had, only me. And the doctors said that was a miracle in itself. They said I shouldn't have survived. **

Now, we know she didn't. I healed her that night, maybe little too much but I didn't regret that. Because, I fully believe that if they all died that night, I wouldn't lasted long.

**She didn't see me, though. Neither did the people standing with her: Aaron and that little doll girl. **

Mia did remind me of a doll but it was still mean of Rose to call that to her face.

**I stopped and listened, just catching the end of the conversation. The girl leaned toward Lissa, who seemed more stunned than anything else.**

"**It looks to **_**me**_ **like it came from a garage sale. I thought a precious Dragomir would have standards." Scorn dripped off the word **_**Dragomir. **_**Grabbing Doll Girl by the shoulder, I jerked her away. She was so light, she stumbled three feet and nearly fell. **

"**She does have standards," I said, "Which is why you're done talking to her." **

Adrian and Christian snickered. Then Christian passed the book Adrian, who made a face but continued anyways.


	5. Reading Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter Four

_(Rose POV)_

_**Chapter Four.**_

**We didn't**__**have the entire commons' attention this time, thank God, but a few passing people had stopped to stare. **

"**What the hell do you think you're doing?" asked Doll Girl, blue eyes wide and sparkling with fury. Up close now, I was able to get a better look at her. She had the same slim build as most Moroi but not the usual height, which was partly what made her look so young. **

"Mia does look a little young. But after Spokane…" Eddie commented letting his sentence fade. He was right after Spokane, what we've been through Mia looked a little older like she seen things others hadn't. Which she has for the most part.

"Her aura slightly changed too." Adrian didn't give anybody a chance to question him more about it before he started reading.

**The tiny purple dress she wore was gorgeous- reminding me that I was indeed dressed in thrift-shop wear- but closer inspection led me to think it was designer knockoff. I crossed my arms across my chest. **

"**Are you lost, little girl? The elementary school's over on west campus." **

Christian barked a laughed. "You really didn't like Mia." I grin at him.

"We're friends now."

"Yeah, Spokane gave us all BONDING time." Christian said sarcastically. I opened my mouth but my voice wasn't one that spoke.

"Can we please stop mentioning Spokane, some of us have no idea what you guys are talking about." Lissa questioned. "Cousin, keep reading." She looked over at Adrian who listened.

**A pink flush spread over her cheeks. "Don't you ever touch me again. You screw with me, and I'll screw you right back." Oh man, what an opening that was. Only a head shake from Lissa stopped me from unleashing any number of hilarious comebacks. **

**Instead, I opted for simple brute force, so to speak. "And if you mess with either of us again, I'll break you in half. If you don't believe me, go ask Dawn Yarrow about what I did to her in ninth grade. You were probably at nap time when it happened."**

"I think Spokane made her more afraid of me." Everyone slightly confused. "She saw me kill two Strigoi and didn't stop even though they were dead. And I threatened to hurt her with the Sword when she wouldn't leave." I shrug.

**The incident with Dawn…**

Adrian continued to fill in the awkward silence. Dimitri glanced at me, in a concerning way and I gave a slight shake of my head for him to leave it alone.

"**Hey, Aaron," I said cheerfully, remembering he was there. **

"**Nice to see you again." He gave me a quick nod and an uneasy smile, just as the girl dragged him off. Same old Aaron. He might be nice and cute, but aggressive he was not. **

I glanced up at Christian and Lissa, smirking slightly. They were into themselves at the moment that I was looking at them. Christian had his arms around Lissa's waist. Lissa was smiling huge, I wondered if her cheeks hurting her. They were just staring at each other, which was slightly hard for Lissa considering she was in his lap. It took a minute to realize Adrian stopped reading and was doing what I was doing looking at them. I looked around the room, noticing everyone was watching them. Adrian, Eddie, Jill, and I were smiling, smirking, or seemed genially happy for them.

Adrian cleared his throat and they both looked at them. Lissa glanced around the room, realizing they were in their own little word. Too deep that they didn't realize people watching them. Christian had this lop-sided grin plastered on his face.

"Sorry." Lissa mumbled, blushing. Adrian and I looked at each other and laughed. I knew Dimitri was watching me in return, but I refused to look at him until Adrian started reading again, I quickly glanced and focused back on the book.

**I turned to Lissa. "You okay?" She nodded. "Any idea who I just threatened to beat up?"**

Eddie slightly laughs and mom looked a little mad, while Abe was smirking and looked amused.

"I have no idea, where you get to 'need to threaten' everyone thing from Rosemarie." Mother commented, I raised my eyebrows and looked at Abe as in a 'she's kidding right?' From what Dimitri took me, that's basically what Abe does. Immediate people and threaten. Abe chuckled and whispered something to mom, and she turned and glared at him in return.

"**Not a clue." I started to lead her toward the lunch line, but she shook her head at me. "Gotta go see the feeders."**

I groaned. Hiding my face in my hands and leaning over to basically my head touched the floor. Great. Just freaking great. THAT'S in the book. I looked up and everyone was staring at me. Adrian glanced down at the book and I can see him reading. Understanding crossed through his eyes and face and he looked back up at me.

I gave Adrian what I hoped was a face that said please not read that part and he nods, speed reading to where it was safe, clearing his throat to gain attention again he read.

**Lissa finished and we returned to the commons, moving toward the lunch line. It was short, since we only had fifteen minutes left, and I strolled up and began to load my plate with French fries and some rounded, bite-size objects that looked vaguely like chicken nuggets. Lissa only grabbed a yogurt. Moroi needed food, as Dhampirs and humans did, but rarely had an appetite after drinking blood. **

"**So how'd classes go?" I asked. **

**She shrugged. Her face was bright with color and life now. "Okay. Lots of stares. A **_**lots**_** of stares. Lots of questions about where we were. Whispering." **

"**Same here," I said. The attendant checked us out, and we walked toward the tables. **

**I gave Lissa a sidelong glance. "You okay with that? They aren't bothering you, are they?" **

"**No- it's fine." The emotions coming through the bond contradicted her words. Knowing I could feel that, she tried to change the subject by handing me her class schedule. It looked it over. **

"A schedule otherwise known as 'I am SUPER smart and I need to dumb things sometimes.'" I rolled my eyes.

"Shut up, Rose." Lissa said smiling at me.

"Whatever."

**1****st**** Period: Russian 2, 2****nd**** Period: American Colonial Literature, 3****rd**** Period: Basics of Elemental Control, 4****th**** Period: Ancient Poetry, Lunch, 5****th**** Period: Animal Behavior and Physiology, 6****th**** Period: Advanced Calculus, 7****th**** Period: Moroi Culture 4, 8****th**** Period: Slavic Art. **

"Cousin… Rosie is right. I didn't even have this when I was in school. Hell I didn't KNOW anyone who had Advanced Calculus." Adrian stared down at the book. I wasn't going to point out he was probably partying all the time but I comment on the Rosie part, which he just rolled his eyes and smirk at me.

"Too bad, Little Dhampir." I glared at him. Adrian knew how to much my buttons. Knew how to get on my nerves and liked to do so often. Which wasn't very good right now, especially since we were in a confined space and he had nowhere to hide or a way for him to get away.

"**Hey, Natalie," I said, turning around and cutting her off. She didn't seem to notice or mind. "Who's Aaron's new girlfriend?" **

"**Huh? Oh. Mia Rinaldi." Seeing my blank look, she asked. "Don't you remember her?" **

"**Should I? Was she here when we left?" **

"**She's always been here,"**

"Shows how much you pay attention to other students at the school." Jill smiled at me. I shrug.

"If they're not my friends and I don't NEED to talk to them. I don't give a damn." Adrian chuckled, but read on.

**Said Natalie. "she's only a year younger than us." I shot a questioning look at Lissa, who only shrugged. **

"**Why is she so pissed off at us?" I asked. "Neither of us know her." **

"**I don't know," answered Natalie. "Maybe she's jealous about Aaron. She wasn't much of anybody when you guys left. She got **_**really **_**popular **_**really **_**fast. She isn't royal or anything, but once she started dating Aaron, she-" **

"**Okay, thanks," I interrupted. "It doesn't really-" **

"I am really HATING this book. It needs to shut up." Adrian glanced down once again and started laughing. I didn't realize Adrian read that fast.

"Jesse… Seriously?" I scowled at him.

"The dude is a bigger ass than I am." I couldn't help but see the truth behind those words. It was probably because I knew Adrian more than, Jessie. Or it was probably because Adrian did nothing BUT flirt, he didn't try anything else, not without permission that is. He understood the word no when it comes to the physical stuff, I knew that much.

"Okay. So I had a thing for Jessie. Leave it alone."

"I want to know what happened? Jessie doesn't seem like the type of guy to back down until he gets what he wants." I looked at Dimitri, then at the book, up to everyone's faces. I sighed.

"Dimitri caught us in a room… Scared the crap out of Jesse." Adrian laughed, like tears going down his face laugh. I didn't understand the reason, but I was slightly confused. I knew Adrian wasn't going to elaborate as to why he was laughing. He whole room was looking at him like he was crazy and he might as well be.

"Typical Rose. Get half naked with a guy. Tease him. Then leave him." Eddie shook his head. He knew, because he would often help me get out of the room along with Mason when we were younger. I huffed at the comment, though.

"I would say she is her own personal Cock-block." I glared at Adrian, while Christian started laughing at me. Jill looked more confused by the minute. Mom and Dimitri didn't look amused, Abe did… slightly other than that I couldn't tell the other emotion I saw on his face.

"Can we just get back to the book, please?" Lissa looked around the room. Adrian sobered up, lifting the book off the floor and continued.

"**Oh my gawd," **

I heard Adrian said, which was weird coming out of his mouth, when I tuned back in.

**Exclaimed one girl. I didn't remember her name. "That was **_**Jesse**_**." **

"**Yes," I said, smiling. "It certainly was."**

"**I wish I looked like you," she added with a sigh. Their eyes fell on me. Technically, I was half-Moroi, but my looks were human. I'd blended in well with humans during out time away, so much so that I'd barely thought about my appearance at all. Here, among the slim and small-chested Moroi girls, certain features-meaning my larger breasts and more defined hips-stood out. **

"You have no idea how many girls want to have your curves." Lissa said nodding. I made a face but shook my head.

"They can want all they want. But by the end of the day that won't have them so I wish you did?" I was a rhetorical question and Lissa just shrugged.

"You get guys attention." I sighed and gestured for Adrian to read on. None of the guys said anything about 'my curves'. I knew it was because they were probably afraid of what I would do to them and/or they were scared of my parents. And by the looks on their faces during this reading confirmed they rather not hear guys talking about my body.

**Dhampirs were an exotic conquest, a novelty all Moroi guys wanted to "try." It was ironic that Dhampirs had such an allure here, because slender Moroi girls looked very much like the super-skinny runway models so popular in the human world. Most humans could never reach that "ideal" skinniness, just as Moroi girls could never look like me. Everyone wanted what she couldn't have. **

Lissa, Jill, and I nod to this.

**Lissa and I got to sit together in our shared afternoon classes but didn't do much talking. The stares she'd mentioned certainly did follow us, but I found that the more I talked to people, the more they warmed up. Slowly, gradually, they seemed to remember who we were, and the novelty-though not the intrigue-of our crazy stunt wore off. Or maybe I should say, they remembered who **_**I **_**was. Because I was the only one talking. **

"Unusual." Lissa agreed as to remember that day clearly.

**Lissa stared straight ahead, listening but neither acknowledging nor participating in my attempts at conversation. I could feel anxiety and sadness pouring out of her. **

"**All right," I told her when classes finally ended. We stood outside the school, and I was fully aware that in doing so, I was already breaking the terms of my agreement with Kirova. "We're not staying here," **

"ROSE!" Mother said, in a way that was she couldn't believe I even thought about trying that again. Adrian chose to ignore her and read.

**I told her, looking around the campus uneasily. "I'm going to find a way to get us out." **

"**You think we could really do it a second time?" Lissa asked quietly. **

"**Absolutely." I spoke with certainty, again relieved she couldn't read my feelings. Escaping the first time had been tricky enough. Doing it again would be a real bitch, not that I couldn't still find a way.**

"Now, you sound like Abe." I think I heard mom say under her breath. Seeing Abe grin slightly, it confirmed that though.

"**You really would, wouldn't you?" She smiled, more to herself than to me, like she'd thought of something funny. **

"**Of course you would. It's just, well…"**

**She sighed. "I don't know if we should go. Maybe-maybe we should stay." I blinked in astonishment. **

"**What?" Not one of my more eloquent answers, but the best I could manage. I'd never expected this from her. **

I see Lissa smile at me, certainly she didn't know she could still surprise me sometimes.

"**I saw you, Rose. I saw you talking to the other novices during class, talking about practice. You miss that." **

"**It's not worth it," I argued. "Not if…not if **_**you**_**…" I couldn't finish, but she was right. She'd read me. I **_**had**_** missed the other novices. Even some of the Moroi. But there was more to it than just that. The weight of my inexperience, how much I'd fallen behind, had been growing all day. **

"**It might be better," she countered. "I haven't had as many…you know, things happening in a while. I haven't felt like anyone was following or watching us." **

"Which, was probably Natalie. Depending how long Victor knew or suspected your powers."

**I didn't say anything to that. Before we'd left the Academy, she'd always felt like someone was following her, like she was being hunted. I'd never seen evidence to support that, but I had once heard one of teachers go on and on about the same sort of thing. Ms. Karp. She'd been a pretty Moroi, with deep auburn air and high cheekbones. And I was pretty sure she'd been crazy. **

"More or less." I mumbled.

"**You never know who's watching," she used to say, walking brisky around the classroom as she shut all the blinds. "Or who's following you. Best to be safe. Best to **_**always **_**be safe." We'd snickered amongst ourselves because that's what students do around eccentric and paranoid teachers. The thought of Lissa acting like her bothered me. **

"**What's wrong?" Lissa asked, noticing that I was lost in thought. **

"At least I know now." I hear her mumbled more to herself than anything.

**This made her laugh. "A Rose ultimatum, huh?" **

"**I'm serious." Words I didn't say very much. "I want you to stay away from the royals. Not like Natalie or anything, but you know, the others. The power players. Camille. Carly. That group." Her amusement turned to astonishment. **

"**Are you serious?" **

"**Sure. You never liked them anyway." **

"_**You **_**did." **

"**No. Not really. I liked what they could offer. All the parties and stuff." **

"**And you can go without that now?" She looked skeptical. **

"**Sure. We did in Portland." **

"**Yeah, but that was different." Her eyes stared off, not really focused on any one thing. **

"**Here…**_**here**_** I've got to be a part of that. I can't avoid it." **

"You do now." Christian said, kissing her cheek.

"Besides, you and Adrian of course." I rolled my eyes at him.

"**The hell you do. Natalie stays out of that stuff." **

"**Natalie isn't going to inherit her family's title," she retorted. "I've already got it. I've got to be involved, start making connections. Andre-"**

"**Liss," I groaned. "You **_**aren't**_** Andre." I couldn't believe she was still comparing herself to her brother. **

Adrian was going to open his mouth, I know that didn't come from the book. I cut in.

"Don't it's a sore subject. One you'll never win."

"**He was always involved in all that stuff." **

"**Yeah, well," I snapped back, "he's **_**dead**_** now." **

**Her face hardened. "You know, sometimes you aren't very nice." **

"**You don't keep me around to be nice. You want nice, there are a dozen sheep in there who would rip each other's throats to get in good with the Dragomir princess. You keep me around to tell you the truth, and here it is: Andre's dead. You're the heir now, and you're going to deal with it however you can. But for now, that means staying away from the other royals. We'll just lie low. Coast through the middle. Get involved in that stuff again, Lissa, and you'll drive yourself…"**

"**Crazy?" she supplied when I didn't finish. Now I looked away. "I didn't mean…" **

"Yesh. Rose." Jill commented.

"Brutal truth. Don't care if you hate me, I am going to tell you how it is."

"**It's okay," she said, after a moment. She sighed and touched my arm. "Fine. We'll stay, and we'll keep out of all that stuff. We'll 'coast through the middle' like you want. Hang out with Natalie, I guess." **

**To be perfectly honest, I didn't want any of that. I wanted to go to all the royal parties and wild drunken festivities like we'd done before. We'd kept out of that life for years until Lissa's parents and brother died. Andre should have been the one to inherit her family's title, and he'd certainly acted like it. **

**Handsome and outgoing, he'd charmed everyone he knew and had been a leader in all the royal cliques and clubs that existed on campus. After his death, Lissa had felt it was her family duty to take his place.**

**I'd gotten to join that world with her. It was easy for me, because I didn't really have to deal with the politics of it. I was a pretty Dhampir, one who didn't mind getting into trouble and pulling crazy stunts. I became a novelty; they liked having me around for the fun of it. Lissa had to deal with other matters. The Dragomirs were one of the twelve ruling families. She'd have a very powerful place in Moroi society, and the other young royals wanted to get in good with her. Fake friends tried to schmooze her and get her to team up against other people. The royals could bribe and backstab in the same breath-and that was just with **_**each other. **_

"Power." Adrian shrugged as that was the answer to everything Royals did. Yes, it was the answer, and it was the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard at the same time.

**To Dhampirs and non-royals, they were completely unpredictable. That cruel culture had eventually taken its toll on Lissa. She had an open, kind nature, one that I loved, and I hated to see her upset and stressed by royal games. She'd grown fragile since the accident, and all the parties in the world weren't worth seeing her hurt. **

"**All right then," I said finally. "We'll see how this goes. If anything goes wrong-anything at all-we leave. No arguments." She nodded. **

"**Rose?" We both looked up at Dimitri's looming form. I hoped he hadn't heard the part about us leaving. **

I see Dimitri shaking his head out of the corner of my eye. I stared at the floor, wondering if Lissa hadn't caught on that I had missed the novices and the combat classes. Would I be sitting here right now? Probably not. Everything we've been through might've not happened, but whose to say that it wouldn't? It could've without me. Without my protection for my friends...

**Messy black hair. Pale blue eyes. A perpetually sardonic smirk. Christian Ozera. **

"Thank God. The book finally gets interesting." Exclaimed Christian. I rolled my eyes at him. Adrian quickly finished the chapter and handed it to me to read next. _GREAT! _But the best part was the third meal came and we decided to leave it until tomorrow.


	6. Reading Chapter 5

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

_Author's Note: This skips a lot of Chapter 5 (it is explained at the bottom), since it is mainly about Christian's family I mainly wrote what Christian had thought about most of the stuff. Therefore, in return I am posting two chapters today. Reading Chapter 6 will be up either shortly or tonight but you _will_ get two chapters today. _

Reading Chapter Five

_(Christian POV)_

_**Chapter Five. **_

**Or rather had been Strigoi. **

I glanced at Rose, who paused for a moment before continuing. I knew that would follow me for the rest of my life. It still didn't make it any better that it did. I also knew that was what Lissa was thinking when she first saw me in the attic. She was beautiful, I always found her beautiful but the way the light hit her from the glass window, she had this glow around her making her like an angel. Though, I covered my awe with sarcastic words I would never forget what she looked like that day.

Her blonde hair, slightly curled. I didn't care much about the clothing, as it was probably hard to get clothing on limited expenses, but it never really matter when she was involved. I also remembered her back when she was dating Aaron, they _seemed _like the perfect Royal couple, but now knowing she wasn't happy and she did it because she thought she had too made me slightly happy with it.

That day I wasn't sure why I had let her stay in the attic, I mean beside her actually, kind of talking to me. As everyone avoided my like the plague and for some reason I found talking to her easy almost. Like I've known her for a while and nothing was awkward. Well, for me that is, it probably was for her. She was the only one I had forgiven instantly for thinking I was just like my parents. And I know, now, Rose doesn't think that… after Spokane at least.

At first I thought the harder thing to do was getting past Rose, but Lissa had turned her back on me and that hurt. A LOT more than I was used to, but Rose said she had feelings for me and that she feels like she needed to do what she did. Rose, oddly enough, gave me that hope that Lissa and I could have been something more. Though, we were broken up during the Skiing trip for a stupid reason we both realized we wanted each other more than anything. And that is where we were at, at this moment. I didn't really care what her friends say as I knew they joked most of the time, and I knew they were teasing her about the relationship. But when I look or pay attention at the right moment, I could tell they were happy for us-her- I think mostly.

Rose and I butted/ butt heads a lot, but that was us and it amused both of us and most of our friends to do so. After Spokane, it had given us that understanding for a few things. We both wanted to protect Lissa; we both knew the importance about using defensive magic as shown that we got out that way. And we both knew no body would love Lissa as much as we do-though in different ways 'course. I didn't know this particular moment, Rose had seen and it was hard to get use to her doing that and I hated it at first, but now it put me at ease because she was always protected in some sort of way. I don't know how long I was lost in thought, but I was brought out of it when Lissa kissed my cheek and gave a questionable look. I just shook my head and paid attention.

"**Hey," I said, suddenly wanting to cheer him up, "did you help come up with the plan to get us back? Because it was pretty good. Brute force and all that." **

I glanced up at Rose, seeing she was smirking. Her head was down-so she could read but slightly turned to Dimitri who had a similar look but he hide it better. I noticed they have been sneaking glances at each other. I wonder if I was the only one who noticed. I looked around the room, surely I probably was. Everyone looked too engrossed into the book. I didn't bring it up though, I was curious. I glanced at Adrian who shook his head then inclined it to Rose and Dimitri. Letting me know that I just needed to let it drop if he was hiding something FOR them, then what don't _we_ know. He seemed like an unlikely candidate to keep secrets.

**I returned to the novices' dorm after that. The Moroi students loved on the other side of the quad, closer to the commons. The living arrangements were partly based on the convenience. Being here kept us novices closer to the gym and the training grounds. But we also lived separately to accommodate the differences in Moroi and Dhampir lifestyles. Their dorm had almost no windows, aside from tinted ones that dimmed sunlight. They also had a special section where feeders always stayed on hand. **

**The novices' dorm was built in a more open way, allowing for more light. I had my own room because there were so few novices, let alone girls. The room they'd given me was small and plain, with a twin bed and a desk with a computer. My few belongings had been spirited out of Portland and now sat in boxes around the room. **

"Mine was pretty much the same, when I got there." I hear Lissa mumble.

**I rummaged through them, pulling out a t-shirt to sleep in. I found a couple pictures as I did, one of Lissa and me at a football game in Portland and another taken when I'd gone on vacation with her family, a year before the accident. I set them on my desk and booted up the computer. Someone from tech support had helpfully given me a sheet with instructions for renewing my e-mail account and setting up a password. I did both, happy to communicate with Lissa. **

**Too tired to write her now, I was about to turn everything off when I noticed I already had a message. From Janine Hathaway. It was short: **_**I'm glad you're back. What you did was inexcusable. **_**"Love you too, mom," **

I could hear the sarcasm in the words; Rose had even said it with sarcasm. However, the next words or paragraphs in this chapter slightly bothered me. Again, I was use to being judged all the time and I understood Roses' reasoning, she was looking after Lissa. Then it turned into Ms. Karp and how she was around campus. I remembered her, clearly. She spiked my interest somewhat of why she was acting like that all the time. Now that I know, I was mostly worried about Lissa heading down that same path. Though I know she is strong enough not to turn Strigoi on me, I know it was also going to be hard for her not to go fully crazy.

Adrian was 21 and most of the time he seemed plain insane for about twenty seconds.

"**Can't slip that leash. I'm with my Russian jailer." **Was what brought me back from my thoughts.

"**Can't you ever get off for good behavior?" He joked. I gave him what I hoped was a seductive smile as I found my seat. **

"**Sure," I called over my shoulder. "If I was ever good."**

Rose looked up smirking, while Adrian and Eddie laugh. I had found it amusing, but acted like I didn't give a damn. Rose passed it to Lissa; Lissa got comfortable in my lap as she begun to read.

_-End of Chapter-_

_Yeah, I know it was short. But I didn't particularly care for this chapter and I wanted Christian to be voices 'unusual' thoughts most of the time and that took up most of it. Or at least I tried for it too. I wanted a break… kind of… for you guys and just plain read thoughts that will probably never be voiced. I wanted to give Christian a sort of…softer? Side to him. Yeah, I have no idea. But thank you for reading –J. _


	7. Reading Chapter 6

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 6

_**Chapter Six.**_

Lissa began.

**As much as Lissa and Christian's meeting bothered me, **

Lissa mocked glared at me, but continued to read.

**It gave me an idea the next day. **

Lissa gave me a weird look as to wonder what idea it could have given me.

"**Hey, Kirvoa-er, Ms. Kirova." I stood in the doorway of her office, not having bothered to make an appointment. She raised her eyes from some paperwork, clearly annoyed to see me. **

"**Yes, Miss Hathaway?" **

As Lissa read about me trying to get Kirova to let me go to church on Sundays. Then me describing the whole thing and what I noticed. Until, I remembered when the priest had given me homework.

**Great. Homework from the priest. **

Then it turned into guardian marriage with another. And then told how basically our system worked. I don't believe in it much anymore, though. Not since Dimitri, at least. Love is weird and happens when you do not expect it, even from whom you except it from.

**As we stepped outside, I heard a funny shifting sound and then something sliding. Too late, I realized what was happening, just as a pile of slush slid off the chapel's roof onto us. It was early October, and we'd had early snow last night that had started melting almost immediately. As a result, the stuff that fell on us was very wet and very cold. Lissa took the brunt of it, but I still yelped as icy water landed on my hair and neck. A few others squealed nearby too, having caught the edge of the mini-avalanche. **

"**You okay?" I asked her. Her coat was drenched, and her platinum hair clung to the sides of her face. **

"**Y-yeah," she said through chattering teeth. I pulled off my coat and handed it to her. It had a slick surface and had repelled most of the water. **

"**Take yours off." **

"**But you'll be-" **

"**Take this." **

"Is this how the Mia thing fully got started?" Eddie questioned, I did a mix of a shrug and nod.

"That was part of it yes."

**She did, and as she slipped on my coat, I finally tuned into the laughter that always follows these situations. I avoided the eyes, instead focusing on holding Lissa's wet jacket while she changed. **

"**Wish you hadn't been wearing a coat, Rose," said Ralf Sarcozy, an unusually bulky and plump Moroi. I hated him. "That shirt would have looked good wet."**

"Ralf is gross." Jill said, scrunching up her nose in discuss at the kid. I shrug.

"Make friends with the right guys and guys like Ralf won't mess with you that much. Unless the guy wants a broken bone somewhere." Eddie, Adrian, and even Christian nods.

"**That shirt's so ugly it should be burned. Did you get that from a homeless person?" I glanced up as Mia walked over and looped her arm through Aaron's. Her blond curls were arranged perfectly, and she had on an awesome pair of black heels that would have looked much better on me. At least they made her look taller, I'd give her that. Aaron had been a few steps behind us but had miraculously avoided being nailed by the slush. Seeing how smug she looked, I decided there'd been no miracles involved. **

"**I supposed you want to offer to burn it, huh?" I asked, refusing to let her know how much that insult bugged me. I knew perfectly well my fashion sense had slipped over the last two years. **

"**Oh, well-fire isn't your element, is it? You work with water. What a coincidence that a bunch just fell on us." Mia looked as if she'd been insulted, but the gleam in her eyes showed that she was enjoying this way too much to be an innocent bystander. **

"**What's that supposed to mean?" **

"She implying you did it, duh." Jill talked to the book. Only to realize that was pretty stupid thing to do especially since it had already happened. She looked bashful, looking down and mumbling sorry. With a smile at Jill, Lissa continued.

"**Nothing to me. But Ms. Kirova will probably have something to say when she finds out you used magic against another student." **

"**That wasn't an attack," she scoffed. "And it wasn't me. It was an act of God." A few others laughed, much to her delight. In my imagination, I responded with, **_**So is this**_**, and then slammed her into the side of the church. In real life, Lissa simply nudged me and said, **

"**Let's go." She and I walked off toward our respective dorms, leaving behind laughter and jokes about our wet states and how Lissa wouldn't know anything about specialization. Inside, I seethed. **

"Sometimes, I wish I could have punched the crap out of her without getting in trouble."

"Of course, you did Rose." Eddie said in a matter of fact voice. I stuck out my tongue and Lissa shook her head.

**I had to do something about Mia, I realized. In addition to the general irritation of Mia's bitchiness, I didn't want Lissa to have to deal with any more stress than she had to. We'd been okay this first week, and I wanted to keep it that way. **

"**You know," I said, "I'm thinking more and more that you stealing Aaron back is a good thing. It'll teach Bitch Doll a lesson. I bet it'd be easy, too. He's still crazy about you." **

Lissa made a face. Dimitri and Mom looked a little disappointed. Of course the contradicting parents; Abe look a little amused and slightly interested in what I wanted to do. And when Lissa to 'Revenge' I thought I saw approval before it disappeared. The above 23 adults, haven't said much of anything and I often forgot that they were there. Well, not Dimitri, I knew he was there but he was quiet as usual.

"**So when's the big catfight going to happen?" Mason was waiting for me outside our dorm after I'd parted ways with Lissa. He looked lazy and cute, leaning against the wall with crossed arms as he watched me. **

"**I'm sure I don't know what you mean." He unfolded himself and walked with me into the building, handing me his coat, since I'd let Lissa go off with my dry one. **

"**I saw you guys sparring outside the chapel. Have you no respect for the house of God?" **

**I snorted. "You've got about as much respect for it as I do, you heathen. You didn't even go. Besides, as you said, we were **_**outside**_**." **

"I want to know why Mason was encouraging you this time to do something. Instead you were asking for his help." Lissa commented, looking strangely at the book.

"**And you still didn't answer the question." I just grinned and slipped on his coat. We stood in the common area of our dorm, a well-supervised lounge and study area where male and female students could mingle, along with Moroi guest. Being Sunday, it was pretty crowded with those cramming for last-minute assignments due tomorrow. Spying a small, empty table, I grabbed Mason's arm and pulled him toward it. **

"**Aren't you supposed to go straight to your room?" **

"You should've gone straight to your room." Mom corrected or let me know what I already did.

**I hunkered down in my seat, glancing around warily. "There are so many people here today, it'll take them a while to notice me. God, I'm so sick of being locked away. And it's only been a week." **

"**I'm sick of it too. We missed you last night. A bunch of us went and shot pool in the rec room. Eddie was on fire."**

Out of the corner of my eye I can see Eddie making a small smile as remembrance.

**I groaned, "Don't tell me that. I don't want to hear about your glamorous social life." **

"**All right." He propped his elbow up on the table and rested his chin in his hand. "Then tell me about Mia. You're just going to turn around and punch her one day, aren't you? I think I remember you doing that at least ten times with people that pissed you off." **

"**I'm a new, reformed Rose," I said, doing my best impression of demure. Which wasn't very good. He emitted a choking sort of laugh. "Besides, if I do that, I'll have broken my probation with Kirova. Gotta walk the straight and narrow." **

I dreamily sighed at the thought of wanting to punch someone in the face, especially in that time when I was so frustrated with everything.

"**In other words, find some way to get back at Mia that you won't get in trouble for." I felt a smile tug at the corners of my lips. **

"**You know what I like about you, Mase? You think just like I do." **

"All you needed was Eddie and you guys could've thought of something good." Lissa smiled at the two of us. Eddie and I looked at each other laughing and nodding in agreement.

"**Frightening concept," he replied drily. "So tell me what you think of this: I might know something about her, but I probably shouldn't tell you…" I leaned forward. **

"**Oh, you already tipped me off. You've**_** got**_** to tell me now." **

"**It'd be wrong," he teased. "How do I know you'd use this knowledge for good instead of evil?" **

**I batted my eyelashes. "Can you resist this face?" **

**He took a moment to study me. "No. I can't, actually. Okay, here you go: Mia isn't royal." **

Everyone made a duh face, but I rolled my hand in a circular motion to tell Lissa to keep reading and she did. Remembering this was when he told me about Mia's parents. And I still think the same thing; I respect anyone who pulled a full day's work, no matter the job.

"…**So which path will you choose: good or evil?" "I think I'll give her a grace-"**

"**Miss Hathaway, you know you aren't supposed to be here." One of the dorm matrons stood over us, disapproval all over her face. I hadn't been joking when I said Mason thought like me. He could bullshit as well as I could. **

"**We have a group project to do for our humanities class. How are we supposed to do it if Rose is in isolation?" **

"Might've worked." Jill commented. Only it did. I pointed at the book and Lissa read on.

**I slid over the priest's book and opened it at random. I'd placed it on the table when we sat down. **

"**We're, um, working on this." She still looked suspicious. **

"**One hour. I'll give you one more hour down here, and I'd better actually see you working." **

"**Yes, ma'am," said Mason straight-faced. "Absolutely." She wandered off, still eyeing us. **

"**My hero," I declared. **

**He pointed at the book. "What is this?" **

Jill looked confused for a moment. "It was the book the priest gave her, Jailbait." Jill made an 'o' face and nods.

"**Something the priest gave me. I had a question about the service." **

**He stared at me, astonished. "Oh, stop it and look interested." I skimmed the index. **

"**I'm trying to find some woman named Anna." Mason slid his chair over so that he was sitting right beside me. **

"**All right. Let's 'study." **

As Lissa read the information about Anna and Vladimir I didn't really pay attention.

"**There you go," Mason said. "She was his guardian." **

"**It doesn't say what 'shadow-kissed' means." **

"**Probably doesn't mean anything." Something in me didn't believe that. I read it again, trying to make sense of the old-fashioned language. Mason watched me curiously, looking like he very much wanted to help. "Maybe they were hooking up," **

Eddie and I choked on a laugh. "Sounds something like Mason would say." He smiled at me. I had forgotten he had said that. I agreed with him and looked at Lissa, smiling, letting her know to continue.

**I laughed. "He was a **_**saint**_**." **

"**So? Saints probably like sex too. That 'brother and sister' stuff is probably a cover." He pointed to one of the lines. **

"**See? They were 'bound' together." He winked. "It's code." **

**Bound. It was a weird word choice, but that didn't necessarily mean Anna and Vladimir were ripping each other's clothes off. "I don't think so. They're just close. Guys and girls can just be friends." I said it pointedly, and he gave me a dry look. **

"**Yeah? **_**We're **_**friends, and I don't know what's in your 'heart and mind.'" Mason put on a fake philosopher's look. **

I started reliving the mini moment as it was happening in front of me.

**I stopped laughing and looked back down at the book. **_**Bound together **_**and**_** always knows what is in his heart and mind. **_**They had a bond, I realized. **

"And she figures it out." Adrian exclaimed.

"Yeah, reading it NOW I can't believe it took that long to figure it out. But at the moment, it was a little difficult to completely understand." Before Adrian could say something back Lissa read.

**I would bet everything I owned-which wasn't much- on it. The revelation was astonishing. There were lots of vague stories and myths about how guardians and Moroi 'used to have bonds.' But this was the first I'd ever heard of anyone specific that it had happened to. Mason had noticed my startled reaction. **

"**You okay? You look kind of weird." I shrugged it off. "Yeah. Fine." **

As Lissa was passing the book to Dimitri, a slot in the wall opened, letting us know it was lunch. Again, we read as we ate.


	8. Reading Chapter 7

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 7

I decided to take a break from sitting in the chair and I sat cross legged on the floor with a blanket around me. Though I still had Dimitri's duster on, I was still cold and you can tell amongst my friends, my parents, and Dimitri they were too, as they had their blankets around them now too.

Though, Lissa and Christian shared the blanket like. Lissa was once again in Christian's lap so and the blanket was big enough to wrap around the two of them. Christian said he would start a fire, but then the smoke wouldn't be able to go anywhere and most likely kill us so we had to deal without the heat. Dimitri looked around, making sure everyone was good and eating before he began.

_**Chapter Seven. **_

**A couple weeks passed after that, and I soon forgot about the Anna thing as life at the Academy wrapped around me. The shock of our return had worn off a little, and we began to fall into a semi-comfortable routine. My days revolved around church, lunch with Lissa, and whatever sort of social life I could scrape together outside of that. **

I have no idea what was it about Dimitri's voice but when he talks, I just plan want to listen to it. As I looked around the room you can tell it was the same with them. It was like he demanded it, without realizing it. Demanding the attention for people to pay attention to him. I didn't realized I wasn't paying attention to what he was saying, but just the sound of his voice. It had smoothed me some too.

**I couldn't help it. I liked flirting, I liked groups, and I liked making smartass comments in class. Her new, incognito role attracted attention simple because it was so different than before we'd left, back when she'd been so active with the royals. Most people soon let that go, accepting that the Dragomir princess was fading off the social radar and content to run with Natalie and her group. Natalie's rambling still made me want to beat my head against a wall sometimes,**

"You wanted to do that too?" Lissa sadly smiled at me. I knew because she didn't really want to talk bad about Natalie.

**But she was really nice- nicer than almost any of the other royals-and I enjoyed hanging around her most of the time. **

I zoned out, listening to Dimitri's voice.

Well, that was until the sound of Jill's voice brought me back. "What does sprawled mean?" I answered as I knew what part of the book she was talking about. "Like lay out in an awkward position… much like this one." I copied the position he was in that day. One leg bent at the knee, the other laid out flat, his back was also slightly curved and I lifted my arms up like I was reading a back.

"He pretty much looked like this." I smiled at Jill who looked slightly amused.

"I like how you remembered, Little Dhampir." I shrugged.

"Whenever I walk in and he is reading a book he is in that position." I was already sitting back up and covered, shielding myself from the cold room as best as I could. Dimitri began reading again, ignoring my subtle way of making fun of him. Though I really wasn't making fun of him in any way.

"**So tell me this: suppose you manage to kidnap her again and take her off to the mall. While you're there, a Strigoi comes at you. What will you do?" **

"**Depends on what store we're in." He looked at me. **

"**Fine. I'll stab him with a silver stake." Dimitri sat up now, crossing his long legs in one fluid motion. I still couldn't figure out how someone so tall could be so graceful. **

"**Oh?" He raised his dark eyebrows. "Do you have a silver stake? Do you even know how to use one?" I dragged my eyes away from his body and scowled. Made with elemental magic, silver stakes were a guardian's deadliest weapon. **

**Stabbing a Strigoi though the heart with one meant instant death. The blades were also lethal to Moroi, so they weren't given out lightly to novices. My classmates had just started learning how to use them. I'd trained with a gun before, but no one would let me near a stake yet. Fortunately, there were two other ways to kill a Strigoi. "Okay. I'd cut his head off."**

I resisted the urge to flinch for some reason. I knew what I had to do in Spokane and that was to kill Isaiah and Elena. I did not have a stake or Christian as he had used a lot of his magic before that, trying to set my hands free to save them.

However, I think what I had to refuse was that even though they were dead; I _had_ kept trying to cut off their heads. It was not enough to make the image of Mason dead, gone. It still wasn't fully gone. But I know, more, now that there was really nothing I could do. I spent hours thinking of different scenarios of making sure everyone got out okay.

Even if we fully looked up stairs, if we did find Isaiah and Elena upstairs, they faith might've still been the same. We had no weapons and there wasn't really we had that would kill them unless we thought about bring the swords down before. I didn't realize everyone was looking at me until Lissa waved her hand in front of my face.

"Sorry, lost in memory." I did not look at any of their faces; instead, I glanced at Dimitri who was looking slightly concerned. "Keep reading, Comrade."

"**Ignoring the fact that you don't have a weapon to do that, how will you compensate for the fact that he may be a foot taller than you?" **

**I straightened up from touching my toes, annoyed. "Fine, then I'll set him on fire." **

"**Again, with what?" **

"**All right, I give up. You've already got the answer. You're just messing with me. I'm at the mall and I see a Strigoi. What do I do?" He looked at me and didn't blink. **

Remembering this perfectly, I smiled slightly and pretended to look innocent as he said **"You run." I repressed the urge to throw something at him. **

That was when he turned giving me a false look of being annoyed. Though, I knew he was amused that I actually wanted to throw something at him. I knew Adrian was laughing; Eddie, Jill, Christian, and Lissa thought it was funny but apparently not like Adrian. Mom looked slightly pissed that I would even think about hitting another guardian and if she did, she clearly didn't know that I wanted to do so on rare occasions. Abe looked impassive by the whole thing, like he had through most of this reading so far. Giving my one final look, Dimitri began to read once again.

**We didn't speak. He slowed his pace to match mine, so we stayed together. Something about that bothered me. **

"Of course." Eddie shook his head but I could see him having a slight smirk.

**I suddenly very much wanted his approval. So I picked up my own pace, working my lungs and muscles harder. Twelve laps around the track made three miles; we had nine more to go. When we reached the third-to-last loop, a couple of other novices passed by, preparing to go to the group practice I'd soon be at as well. **

**Seeing me, Mason cheered. "Good form, Rose!" I smiled and waved back. **

"**You're slowing down," Dimitri snapped, jerking my gaze from the boys. The harshness in his voice startled me. **

"**Is this why your times aren't getting any faster? You're easily distracted?" Embarrassed, I increased my speed once more, despite the fact that my body started screaming obscenities at me. **

Silently I agreed to myself, but that was the point push myself to get where I needed to be and hopefully pass that.

"**Looks like I could get as far as the limited before the Strigoi got me at the mall. Not sure how Lissa would do." **

With the look of mock anger from Lissa brought me back and I smiled at her.

"**If she was with you, she'd be okay." I looked up in surprise. It was the first real compliment he'd paid me since I started training with him. His brown eyes watched me, both approving and amused. And that's when it happened. I felt like someone had shot me. Sharp and biting, terror exploded in my body and in my head. Small razors of pain. My vision blurred, and for a moment, I wasn't standing there. **

I looked over at Dimitri while he read.

**I was running down a flight of stairs, scared and desperate, needing to get out of there, needing to find…me. My vision cleared, leaving me back on the track and out of Lissa's head. Without a word to Dimitri, I tore off, running as fast as I could toward the Moroi dorm. It didn't matter that I'd just put my legs through a mini-marathon. They ran hard and fast, like they were shiny and new. Distantly, I was aware of Dimitri catching up to me, asking me what was wrong. But I couldn't answer him. I had one task and one alone: get to the dorm. **

Dimitri nods, mostly to himself as if that was the right thing to do. But I knew it wasn't, he should've known or he had somewhat a faith in me that I knew something and if I thought it was dangerous enough I would've told him. But at that moment, at least reading at this moment, he understood I just had to get to Lissa.

**She couldn't patch this fox up, though. There was no coming back for it, but I saw in her she wanted to help it, like she helped everything. I took her face she wanted to help it, like she helped everything. **

I smiled at Lissa and she smiled back.

**I took her hand and steered her away, suddenly recalling a conversation from two years ago. **_**"What is that? Is it a crow?" **_

"_**Too big. It's a raven." **_

"_**Is it dead?" **_

"_**Yeah. Definitely. Don't touch it." **_**She hadn't listened to me back then. I hoped she would now. **

"**It was still alive when I got back," Lissa whispered to me, clutching my arm. "Barely. Oh God, it was twitching. It must have suffered so much." I felt the bile rise in my throat. **

I took the moment to look at everyone's faces. Lissa, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian looked like they were going to be sick. Christian, mom, and Abe looked impassive. Dimitri was looking down at the book, so I couldn't really tell but it was mostly like mom and Abe.

**Under no circumstances would I throw up. "Did you-?" **

"**No. I wanted to…I started to…" **

"**Then forget about it," I said sharply. "It's stupid. Somebody's stupid joke. They'll clean it up. Probably even give you a new room if you want." **

**She turned to me, eyes almost wild. "Rose…do you remember…that one time…" **

"**Stop it," I said. "Forget about it. This isn't the same thing." **

"**What if someone saw? What if someone knows?..." I tightened my grip on her arm, digging my nails in to get her attention. **

**She flinched. "No. It's not the same. It has nothing to do with that. Do you hear me?" **

**I could feel both Natalie and Dimitri's eyes on us. "It's going to be okay. Everything is going to be okay."**

"Always knew how to get me out of my own mind." I hear Lissa mumbled.

**Someone finally realized I was there and ordered Dimitri to take me away, no matter how much I begged them to let me stay with Lissa. He walked me back to the novices' dorm. **

**He didn't speak until we were almost there. "You know something. Something about what happened. Is this what you meant when you told Headmistress Kirova that Lissa was in danger?" **

"**I don't know anything. It's just some sick joke." **

"**Do you have any idea who'd do it? Or why?" **

**I considered this. Before we'd left, it could have been any number of people. That was the way it was when you** **were popular. People loved you, people hated you. But now? Lissa had faded off to a certain extent. The only person who really and truly despised her was Mia, but Mia seemed to fight her battles with words, not actions. And even if she did decide to do something more aggressive, why do this? She didn't seem like the type. There were a million other ways to get back at a person. **

True.

"**No," I told him. "No clue." **

"**Rose, if you know something, tell me. We're on the same side. We both want to protect her. This is serious." **

**I spun around, taking my anger over the fox out on him. "Yeah, it **_**is**_** serious. It's all serious. And you have me doing laps every day when I should be learning to fight and defend her! If you want to help her, then teach me something!**_** Teach me how to fight**_**. I already know how to run away." I didn't realize until that moment how badly I did want to learn, how I wanted to prove myself to him, to Lissa, and to everyone else. The fox incident had made me feel powerless, and I didn't like that. I wanted to do something, **_**anything**_**. **

I nod in agreement with myself.

**Dimitri watched my outburst calmly, with no change in his expression. When I finished, he simply beckoned me forward like I hadn't said anything. "Come on. You're late for practice." **

Dimitri looked up from the book, meaning that chapter was done. He looked around the room, waiting for someone to take it. The old man, decided that he would read next and took it from him.


	9. Reading Chapter 8

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 8

_Abe got _straight to the point.

**Chapter Eight. **

**Burning with anger, I fought harder and better that day than ever had in any of my classes with the novices. So much so that I finally won my first hand-to-hand pairing, annihilating Shane Reyes. We'd always gotten along, and he took it good naturedly, applauding my performance, as did a few others. **

"**The comeback's starting," observed Mason after class. **

"**So it would seem." He gently touched my arm. **

"**How's Lissa?" It didn't surprise me that he knew. **

I sighed, mostly to myself.

**Gossip spread so fast around here sometimes, it felt like everyone had a psychic bond. **

"**Okay. Coping." I didn't elaborate on how I knew that. Out bond was a secret from the student body. **

"**Mase, you claim to know about Mia. You think she might have done that?" **

"**Whoa, hey, I'm not an expert on her or anything. But honestly? No. Mia won't even do dissections in biology. I can't picture her actually catching a fox, let alone, um, killing it." **

"**Any friends who might do it for her?" **

Eddie shook his head, like he was telling me that answer before Mason even could in the book.

**He shook his head. "Not really. They're not really the types to get their hands dirty either. But who knows?" **

**Lissa was still shaken when I met her for lunch later, her mood made worse when Natalie and her crew wouldn't shut up about the fox. Apparently Natalie had overcome her disgust enough to enjoy the attention the spectacle had brought her. **

"More like she didn't realize HOW much attention it would've gotten when she put it there." I mumbled. The old man glanced up giving me a look that was clearly meant that I need to shut it. I just rolled my eyes and motioned for him to continue as he wished.

**Maybe she wasn't as content with her fringe status as I'd always believed. **

"**And it was just **_**there**_**," she explained, waving her hands for emphasis. **

"**Right in the middle of the bed. There was blood e**_**verywhere**_**." Lissa looked as green as the sweater she wore, and I pulled her away before I even finished my food and immediately launched into a string of obscenities about Natalie's social skills. **

"Some of them were funny, but still too mean to laugh at them." Lissa looked almost concerned at the ground. She has been blocking me since we've begun reading the book, so I didn't know what the reason was.

"**I do like her, but she's just incompetent about certain things." We stood outside our animal behavior class, and I noticed people giving us curious looks and whispering as they passed. **

**I sighed. "How are you doing with all this?" **

**A half-smile crossed her face. "Can't you already feel it?" **

"**Yeah, but I want to hear it from you." **

"**I don't know. I'll be okay. I wish everyone wouldn't keep staring at me like I'm some kind of freak." **

**My anger exploded again. The fox was bad. People upsetting her made it worse, but at least I could do something about them. "Who's bothering you?"**

"So _over _protective." Lissa smiled at me, I grinned back at her.

"**Rose, you can't beat up everyone we have a problem with." **

"**Mia?" I guessed. **

"**And others," she said evasively. "Look, it doesn't matter. What I want to know is how this could have…that is, I can't stop thinking about that time-" **

"**Don't," I warned. **

"**Why do you keep pretending that didn't happen? You of all people. You made fun of Natalie for going on and on, but it's not like you've got a good grip on your control switch. You'll normally talk about anything." **

True.

"**But not **_**that**_**. We need to forget about it. It was a long time ago. We don't even really know what happened." She stared at me with those big green eyes, calculating her next argument. **

"**Hey Rose." Our conversation dropped as Jesse strolled up to us. I turned on my best smile. **

"**Hey." He nodded cordially to Lissa. "SO hey, I'm going to be in your dorm tonight for a study group. You think…maybe…"**

**Momentarily forgetting Lissa, I focused my full attention on Jesse. Suddenly, I **_**so **_**needed to so something wild and bad. Too much had happened today. "Sure." **

I see out the corner of my eyes that my mom was shaking her head at me.

**He told me when he'd be there, and I told him I'd meet him in one of the common areas with "Further instructions." Lissa stared at me when he left. "You're under house arrest. They won't let you hang out and talk to him." **

"**I don't really want to 'talk' to him. We'll slip away." **

**She groaned. "I just don't know about you sometimes." **

"**That's because you're the cautious one, and I'm the reckless one." **

I think now, it is pretty much both. Well, when Lissa or anyone of my friends are involved I am cautious about doing something that might physically hurt them. But reckless when it comes to me and I am pretty fine with that.

"**Don't worry," I told her. "I've got a way-" **

"**Hey, Lissa," someone interrupted. We both looked up as Ralf Sarcozy stopped by our desks. He wore his trademark stupid grin, and I had a feeling he'd come over here on a dare from his friends. **

"**So, admit it," he said. "You killed the fox. You're trying to convince Kirova you're crazy so that you can get out of here again." **

"**Screw you," I told him in a low voice. **

"**Are you offering?" **

"**From what I've heard, there isn't much to screw,"**

Adrian, Eddie, and Christian snickered while going "Oooh." Jill and Lissa slightly giggled at the comment. I could see that Abe had a grin, Mom and Dimitri looked slightly frustrated with me.

"**Wow," he said mockingly. "You **_**have**_** changed. Last I remembered, you weren't too picky about who you got naked with." **

"**And the last **_**I**_** remember, the only people you ever saw naked were on the internet."**

"Ah. Little Dhampir, you never fail to amuse me." I rolled my eyes at him.

"Glad you find me amusing."

**He cocked his head in an overly dramatic fashion. "Hey, I just got it: it was you, wasn't it?" He looked at Lissa, then back at me. "She got **_**you**_** to kill the fox, didn't she? Some weird kind of lesbian voo-ahhh!"**

Abe over exaggerated the 'ahhh'.

**Ralf burst into flames. I jumped up and pushed Lissa out of the way- not easy to do, since we were sitting at our desks. **

I glared at Christian.

**We both ended up on the floor as screams-Ralf's in particular-filled the classroom and Ms. Meissner sprinted for the fire extinguisher. And then, just like that, the flames disappeared. Ralf was still screaming and patting himself down, but he didn't have a single singe mark on him. The only indication of what had happened was the lingering smell of smoke in the air. For several seconds, the entire classroom froze. Then, slowly, everyone put the pieces together. Moroi magical specializations were well known, and after scanning the room, I deduced three fire users: Ralf, his friend Jacob, and-**

Abe paused for a moment.

**Christian Ozera. **

**Since neither Jacob nor Ralf would have set Ralf on fire, it sort of made the culprit obvious. The fact that Christian was laughing hysterically sort of gave it away too. **

Then Lissa and I had a fight about Christian. Yeah, it probably wasn't very man's dream to have a women fight over him… or was that just a woman's dream to have men fight for her? Doesn't matter, we were fighting deciding how dangerous Christian was. At one point when Lissa said, not everyone acts and thinks like I do she looked at me apologizing with her eyes. I just shrugged it off.

"**Trouble in paradise?" **

"**Go find your pacifier, and shut the hell up," I told her, not waiting for her response. Her mouth dropped open, then tightened into a scowl. Lissa and I walked on in silence, and then Lissa burst out laughing. Like that, our fight diffused. **

"**Rose…" Her tone was softer now. "Lissa, he's dangerous. I don't like him. Please be careful."**

"I have a question." Jill looked slightly curious, then she turned to me. "What changed then? You seem perfectly fine with him now." I bit the inside of my lip, Christian and Lissa looked at me expectantly.

I smirked at the couple and shrugged at Jill. Knowing I wasn't going to answer Dimitri asked Abe to finish reading.

**She touched my arm. "I am. I'm the cautious one, remember? You're the reckless one." I hoped that was still true. But later, after school, I had any doubts. I was in my room doing homework when I felt a trickle of what could only be called sneakiness coming from Lissa. Losing track of my work, I stared off into space, trying to get a more detailed understanding of what was happening to her. If ever there was a time for me to slip into her mind, it was now, but I didn't know how to control that. Frowning, I tried to think what normally made that connection occur. Usually she was experiencing some strong emotion, an emotion so powerful it tried to blast into my mind. I had to work hard to fight against that; I always sort of kept a mental wall up. **

Lissa glanced at me, looking a little annoyed that I found that she was being sneaky and I wanted to know what was going on.

**I'd never done anything like this before; I didn't have the patience for meditation. My need was so strong, however, that I forced myself into an intense, focused relaxation. I needed to know what was going on with her, and after a few more moments, my effort paid off. I was in. **

"You make it sound like you just broke into something." Jill commented.

"Basically I did. It was Lissa's head." Adrian chuckled at the comment. Abe passed the book to mom, so she had her chance to read.


	10. Reading Chapter 9

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 9

_(Adrian POV)_

_**Chapter Nine. **_

Rose's mom began.

**I snapped into her mind, once again seeing and directly experiencing what went on around her. She was sneaking into chapel's attic again, confirming my worst fears. Like last time, she met no resistance. **_**Good God, **_**I thought, **_**could that priest be any worse about securing his own chapel?**_

I chuckled to myself. Most kids do not sneak _in _to a church so he probably didn't think about it.

"**You're late," he told her. "Been waiting a while." **

**Lissa pulled up one of the rickety chairs, brushing dust off it. "I figured you'd be tired with Headmistress Kirova." **

**He shook his head. "Not much to it. They suspended me for a week, that's all. Not like it's hard to sneak out." He waved his hands around. "As you can see." **

"**I'm surprised you didn't get more time." A patch of sunlight lit up his crystal-blue eyes. "Disappointed?" **

**She looked shocked. "You set someone on fire!" **

Leave it too Christian to do something that would be funny and I not be there to help…make the situation worst.

"**And don't act like it was all for me. You **_**liked**_** doing it. Part of you wanted to-just because." Christian's smug expression dropped, replaced by one of uncharacteristic surprise. **

**Lissa might not be psychic, but she had a startling ability to read people. Seeing him off guard, she continued. "Attacking someone else with magic is forbidden-and that's **_**exactly**_** why you wanted to do it. You got a thrill out of it." **

If I had a power that did not make me crazy all the time, just by using it, I would use it all the time, to entertain myself with. Any other power but Spirit I would personally like better, but it also allowed me to help more than usual.

**His face darkened, his eyes grew hard. To most people, he might have appeared scary and intimidating, but as Lissa studied and admired his features, he suddenly seemed very, very vulnerable. **

"**You're right," she admitted softly, after a moment. "I don't. I'm sorry." For the second time this meeting, Christian looked astonished. Probably no one apologized to him that often. Hell, no one even talked to him that often. Certainly no one ever listened. Like usual, he quickly turned into his cocky self. **

I glanced at Christian, getting a glimpse at his aura. It was dimer than usual, but his usual colors were there. Lissa looked up at him, and his aura glowed a little brighter. I had to blink a few times, before the visual of his aura went away. I discovered the more I used my power to look at auras, it had become harder each time to stop seeing the aura itself.

"**I see. You just figured it out. Without any proof." **

"**I've got all the proof I need, just from watching you."**

"Way to sound like a creepier." Rose looked over at Christian who rolled his eyes.

"**You've been watching me-spying on me-to prove I'm using compulsion?" He shrugged. "No. Actually, I've been watching you just because I like it. The compulsion thing was a bonus. I saw you use it the other day. To get an extension on that math assignment. And you used it on Ms. Carmack when she wanted to make you go through more testing." **

Thinking back to when I was in school, they wanted to put me through a lot more testing because it was my final year and I yet specialized… to their knowledge at least. I wouldn't tell anyone that I could see there auras and could dream walk. Finding both of those out was an interesting memory. I remembering talking with one of my friends at that point in time, when he was pissed and then when a girl passed by we both had looked at her. But her aura was this bright blue, slightly yellow, and a hint of red.

And before I could comment on it, it was gone. The dream walking was purely accidental. I was thinking of this girl I had seen the earlier day and immediately attracted to him. So I introduced myself, and I was going to bed thinking of her. I knew it was time that she was probably already asleep so I couldn't ask her out, but then slowly the room had disappeared and she was in front of me confused. So was I, but then it kept happening with different girls and they remembered everything. Like, we had shared the dream.

I hadn't put it together then, but I knew my power was something no one really knew about. So I had said nothing and tuned back into the book.

**I didn't know how I felt about being dragged into this bizarre conversation. Some people were scared of me. Maybe he was too. Judging from the amusement in his voice when he spoke, it appeared he wasn't. "People think I'm unstable, but I tell you, Rose is ten times worse. Of course, that makes it harder for people to fuck with **_**you**_**, so I'm all for it." **

Of course, he was.

**Leaning back on his heels, he finally broke the intimate space between them. **

"**And I sure as hell didn't do **_**that**_**. Find out who did, though…and what I did to Ralf won't seem like anything." He gallant offer of creepy vengeance didn't exactly reassure Lissa…but it did thrill her a little. **

I chuckled, hiding my smile with my hand as Lissa sent me a glare that wouldn't even scare a fly.

"**I don't want you doing anything like that. And I still don't know who did it." He leaned back toward her and caught her wrists in his hands. He started to say something, then stopped and looked down in surprise, running his thumbs over faint, barely there scars. Looking back up at her, he had a strange-for him- kindness in his face. **

"**You might not know who did it. But you know something. Something you aren't talking about." **

**She stared at him, a swirl of emotions playing in her chest. "You can't know all my secrets," she murmured. He glanced back at her wrists and then released them, that dry smile of his back on his face. **

"**No. I guess not." A feeling of peace settled over her, a feeling I thought only I could bring. Returning to my own head and my room, I sat on the floor staring at my math book. Then, for reasons I didn't really get, I slammed it shut and threw it against the wall. **

I glanced at Rose, who looked like she was concentrating on something.

**I spent the rest of the night brooding until the time I was supposed to meet Jesse came around. **

Well, this would be interesting.

**Slipping downstairs, I went into the kitchen-a place I could visit so long as I kept things brief- and caught his eye when I cut through the main visiting area. **

**Moving past him, I paused and whispered, "There's a lounge on the fourth floor that nobody uses. Take the stairs on the other side of the bathrooms and meet me there in five minutes. The lock on the door is broken." He complied to the second, and we found the lounge dark, dusty, and deserted. The drop in guardian numbers over the years meant a lot of the dorm stayed empty, a sad sign for Moroi society but terribly convenient right now. **

I smirked at Rose, whose aura was changing slight colors and the colors were darker than the normal sparks of colors I usually see.

"**Oooh," I teased. "Is working with a Dhampir beneath your royal blood? Should I be offended?" He smiled, showing a mouth full of perfect white teeth and fangs. **

"**You're a lot hotter than she is." **

"**Glad I make the cut." There was a sort of heat in his eyes-**

"Little Dhampir, do we want to hear this?" I smirked at her; I was clearly amused by the situation now. She narrowed her eyes and I could feel my smirk broaden.

"Fortunately, after a while, this is where Dimitri scares Jesse half to death. So it goes nowhere. Exactly, where I wanted it to go _Nowhere_." She emphasized nowhere and looked back at her mother for her to continue reading.

**That was turning me on, as was his hand sliding up my leg. But I needed to do something first. **

I raised an eyebrow at Rose. Looking at her and Belikov's aura. His clearly jealously and hers probably embarrassment, I didn't point out any of it though. Knowing they still wanted the relationship brewing a secret still. However, I have no idea how long that will last.

"**Yeah. Scrubbing floors and stuff like that." **

"**Huh." I could see the wheels turning in his dark blue eyes and had to hide a smile. The seed was planted. **

"Pure evil Rose." I see Rose smirk but from what I could tell from her still embarrassed looking aura she wasn't into it. 

**Sitting up, I moved closer to him and draped a leg over his lap. I wrapped my arms around him, and without further delay, thoughts of Mia disappeared as his testosterone kicked in. **

The more Guardian Hathaway spoke, the more the jealously in Belikov's aura showed. I looked over at her parents, and clear red was shown. Mostly red was connected with anger or disappointment. Though their faces didn't show anything of that.

**He paused, thinking about this, and finally decided not to push it. **

"**Okay." But he pushed me onto the couch, lying over me, still kissing with that same fierceness. His lips traveled down to my neck, and when the sharp points of his fangs brushed against my skin, I couldn't help an excited gasp. He raised himself up, looking into my face with open surprise. For a moment, I could barely breathe, recalling that rush of pleasure that a vampire bite could fill me with, wondering what it'd feel that while making out.**

I wasn't that low to comment on that, I promptly kept my mouth shut.

"**Don't," I warned. **

"**You want to." His voice held excited wonder. "I can tell." **

"**No, I don't." **

**His eyes lit up. "You do. How-hey, have you done it before?" **

"**No," I scoffed. "Of course not." Those gorgeous**

Jesus Christ. Didn't think Rose could go that low. I have no respect for Jesse as he has been to a few parties that I had also gone to. He always treated a girl that way, basically pressuring them into finding something out, or doing something they didn't want to. Though I am a drunken idiot most of the time, I knew the meaning of 'no'. Even hearing this proved much, Rose had kept saying no to the blood drinking he should've left it.

**That peaked his interest. "Yeah? Like wha-?" **

**And that was when the door opened. We sprang apart. I was ready to handle a fellow student or even possibly the matron. What I was not ready for was Dimitri. **

Even the look on his face in this moment, looked like she was relieved. I wanted to comment, but unlike myself I remained quiet and listened what would happen.

**He burst in the door like he'd expected to find us, and in that horrible moment, with him raging like a storm, I knew why Mason had called him a god. In the blink of any eye, he crossed the room and jerked Jesse up by his shirt, nearly holding the Moroi off the ground. **

I silently laughed and shook my head. Rose's parents-Abe and Guardian Hathaway- looked slightly pleased before hiding the emotion again.

"**What's your name?" barked Dimitri. **

"**J-Jesse, sir. Jesse Zeklos, sir." **

"**Mr. Zeklos, do you have permission to be in this part of dorm?" **

"**No, sir." **

"**Do you know the rules about male and female interactions around here?" **

"**Yes, sir." **

"**Then I suggest you get out of here as fast as you can before I turn you over to someone who will punish you accordingly. If I ever see you like this again"-Dimitri pointed to where I cowered, half-dressed, on the couch-"**_**I**_** will be the one to punish you. And it will hurt. A lot. Do you understand?" **

Belikov even sounded scary, I respected him to no end, but sometimes teasing with a woman he loved was interesting to see his aura change quickly.

**I guess there was "usually" and then there was being held in the grip of a really ripped, really tall, and really pissed-off Russian guy. "Yes, sir." **

"**Then **_**go**_**." Dimitri released him, and, if possible, Jesse got out of there faster than Dimitri had burst in. My mentor then turned to me, a dangerous glint in his eyes. He didn't say anything, but the angry, disapproving message came through loud and clear. **

Rose's head snapped up, from where she was staring at the floor. Her face making a 'oh, shit' face.

**And then it shifted. **

Rose groaned, throwing her head in her hands hiding her face. "Kill me. Kill me, now. Make quick and painless." She kept mumbling over and over again. Everyone looked at her in concern, and that's when I made a click she remembers what she thought. Very interesting.

"It'll be quick and painless if you stop interrupting and get it over with." I told her, unusual kindness in my voice.

"Easy for you to say. When your thoughts aren't the ones being read out loud." She snapped.

"Exactly, do you not think that your secret won't be put out there? Had that not crossed your minds?" I looked at Rose, but I questioned the both of them. "I say, just say it now and get it over with a long with the lecture." I shrug; every word out of my mouth was drawing interest, and keeping her mother from reading the book.

"What secret?" Lissa asked, sounding curious and slightly hurt. Rose glared at me.

"Nothing." Rose looked at her mother, giving the 'go' signal to keep reading.

**It was almost like he'd been taken by surprise, like he'd never noticed me before. Had it been any other guy, I would have said he was checking me out. As it was, he was definitely studying me. Studying my face, my body. And I suddenly realized I was only in jeans and a bra- a black bra at that. I knew perfectly well that there weren't a lot of girls at this school who looked as good in a bra as I did. **

"Conceded." I coughed. Receiving a glare from Rose.

**Even a guy like Dimitri, one who seemed so focused on duty and training and all of that, had to appreciate that. And, finally, I noticed that a hot flush was spreading over me, and that the look in his eyes was doing more to me than Jesse's kisses had. Dimitri was quiet and distant sometimes, but he also had a dedication and intensity that I'd never seen in any other person. I wondered how that kind of power and strength translated into…well, sex.**

"Little Dhampir, are ANY of your thoughts, PG?" I questioned, Rose flipped me off and played with a nonexistent loose strand on Belikov's duster.

**I wondered what it'd be like for him to touch me and-shit! What was I thinking? Was I out of my mind? Embarrassed, I covered my feelings with attitude. **

"**You see something you like?" **

"**Get dressed." The set of his mouth hardened, and whatever he'd just felt was gone. That fierceness sobered me up and made me forget about my own troubling reaction. I immediately pulled my shirt back on, uneasy at seeing his badass side. **

"**How'd you find me? You following me to make sure I don't run away?" **

"**Be quiet," he snapped, leaning down so that we were at eye level. "A janitor saw you and reported it. Do you have any idea how stupid this was?"**

Apparently they weren't as good as they thought sneaking around like that. At the moment, to me Belikov sounded a little jealous and way over protective. Maybe that was just him, he was protective by nature, I saw that much, especially if it involved Rose.

"**Is that your subtle way of calling me a slut?" **

"**I hear the stories you guys tell. I've heard stories about you." Ouch. I wanted to yell back that it was none of his business what I did with my body, but something about the anger and disappointment on his face made me falter. I didn't know what it was. "Disappointing" someone like Kirova was a nonevent, but Dimitri?...I remembered how proud I'd felt when he praised me the last few times in our practices. Seeing that disappear from him… well, it suddenly made me feel as cheap as he'd implied I was.**

I've never thought as Rose as cheap, though I knew she wasn't like that the moment I saw her. And maybe Belikov was giving her something to prove to him once again. On the other hand, he was strictly jealous because it wasn't with _him_ she was getting semi-naked with. I can see the look on Dimitri's face when Hathaway said those words he looked slightly shocked by them.

"**Does it bother you? Does he remind you of Ivan?" **

"**It doesn't matter how I feel. It doesn't matter how any of us feel." **

"**But it does bother you." It suddenly became very obvious to me. I could read the his pain, though he clearly worked hard to hide it. **

"**You hurt. Every day. Don't you? You miss him." Dimitri looked surprised, like he didn't want me to know that, like I'd uncovered some secret part of him. I'd been thinking he was some aloof, antisocial tough guy, but maybe he kept himself apart from other people so he wouldn't get hurt if he lost them. Ivan's death had clearly left a permanent mark. **

Even now, as I read his aura it did.

**I wondered if Dimitri was lonely. The surprised look vanished, and his standard serious one returned. **

"**It doesn't matter how I feel. **_**They **_**come first. Protecting them." I thought about Lissa again. **

"**Yeah. They do." A long silence fell before he spoke again. **

"**You told me you want to fight, to **_**really **_**fight. Is that still true?" **

"**Yes. Absolutely." **

"**Rose…I can teach you, but I have to believe you're dedicated. Really dedicated. I can't have you distracted by things like this." He gestured around the lounge. "Can I trust you?" **

Leaning back I looked up at the ceiling. This was starting to get too much, the reading and seeing auras, and not even having alcohol to numb any of it.

"**Yes. I promise." **

"**All right. I'll teach you, but I need you strong. I know you hate the running, but it really is necessary. You have no idea what Strigoi are like. The school tries to prepare you, but until you've seen how strong they are and how fast…well, you can't even imagine. So I can't stop the running and the conditioning. If you want to learn more about fighting, we need to add more training. It'll take up more of your time. You won't have much left for your homework or anything else. You'll be tried. A lot." **

**I thought about it, about him, and about Lissa. "It doesn't matter. If you tell me to do it, I'll do it." He studied me hard, like he was still trying to decide if he could believe me. Finally satisfied, he gave me a sharp nod. **

"**We'll start tomorrow." **


	11. Reading Chapter 10

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 10

_Lissa decided _to read again. Clearing her throat, with a slight smile she began.

**Chapter Ten. **

"**Excuse me, Mr. Nagy? I can't really concentrate with Lissa and Rose passing notes over there." Mia was attempting to distract attention from herself-as well as from her inability to answer Mr. Nagy's question- and it was ruining what had otherwise been a promising day. A few of the fox rumors still circulated, but most people wanted to talk about Christian attacking Ralf. **

"That's kind of low of her." I raised my eyebrows at Jill; of course, all of us knew it gets worst. None of really said anything but Lissa filled the silence with reading more.

**I still hadn't cleared Christian of the fox incident-I was pretty sure he was psycho enough to have done it as some crazy sign of affection for Lissa- but whatever his motives; he had shifted the attention off her, just as he'd said.** **Mr. Nagy, legendary for his ability to humiliate students by reading notes aloud, homes in on us like a missile. He snatched the note away, and the excited class settled in for a full reading. **

I shook my head. Note to self, act like a bitch to Mr. Nagy.

**I swallowed my groan, trying to look as blank and unconcerned as possible. Beside me, Lissa looked like she wanted to die. **

"You pulled it off. I didn't even try, but it did look like you didn't care that he was fixing to read that stupid note." Lissa basically groaned at the end of that sentence.

"**My, my," he said, looking the note over. "If only student would write this much in their essays. One of you has considerably worse writing than the other, so forgive me if I get anything wrong here." **

**He cleared his throat. "**_**'So, I saw J last night,'**_** begins the person with bad handwriting, to which the response is, **_**'What happened,'**_** followed by no fewer than five question marks. Understandable, since sometimes one-let alone four-just won't get the point across, eh?" **

Lissa continued to read what was on the note, while I was laughing to myself the whole time. Then it went into people talking about the fox in Lissa's room and how people couldn't get over it. Though it WAS something big and people wanted to know who had put it there, which they got the answer after Natalie.

At the mention of Lissa having sex with Aaron, I smirked. Knowing _how_ she felt about sex with Christian, which was pretty much those right things right there for her. Well, that it was that good for her with him. Lissa saw me smirking at her and she blushed knowing, I knew what she felt when she was with Christian. Adrian saw the exchange and chuckled.

**The sound of something moving in the brush came from nearby. I immediately shot up, putting my body between her and the noise. **

"**It's some animal," she said when a minute went by in silence. That didn't mean it wasn't dangerous. The school's wards kept out Strigoi, but wild animals often wandered into the outskirts of campus, posing their own threats. Bears. Cougars. **

"**Come on," I told her. "Let's head back." We hadn't gone very far when I heard something moving again, and someone stepped out into out path. **

"**Ladies." **

**Ms. Karp. We froze, and whatever quick reactions I'd shown back by the marsh disappeared as I delayed a few moments in hiding the bottle behind my back. A half-smile crossed her face, and she held out her hand. **

"Busted." Adrian snickered.

**Sheepishly, I gave the bottle to her, and she tucked it under her arm. She turned without another word, and we followed, knowing there would be consequences to deal with. **

"**You think no on notices when half a class is gone?" She asked after a little while. **

"**Half a class?" **

"**A few of you apparently choose today to skip. Must be the nice weather. Spring fever." Lissa and I trudged along. I'd never been comfortable about Ms. Karp since this time she'd healed my hands. Her weird, paranoid behavior had taken on a strange quality to me- a lot stranger than before. Scary, even. **

**And lately I couldn't look at her without seeing those marks by her forehead. Her deep red hair usually covered them but not always. Sometimes there were new marks; sometimes the old ones faded to nothing. A weird fluttering noise sounded to my right. We all stopped. **

"**One of your classmates, I imagine," murmured Ms. Karp, turning toward the sound. **

I glanced over at Lissa who looked guilty. Still blocking her feelings so I couldn't really determine exactly why she looked guilty.

**But when we reached the spot, we found a large black bird lying on the on the ground. Birds-and most animals-didn't do anything for me, but even I had to admire its sleek features and fierce beak. It could probably peck someone's eyes out in thirty seconds-if it weren't obviously dying. With a last, half-hearted shake, the bird finally went still. **

"**What is that? Is it a crow?" I asked. **

"**Too big," said Ms. Karp. "It's a raven." **

"**Is it dead?" I peered at it. **

"**Yeah. Definitely dead. Don't touch it." **

"**Probably attacked by another bird," observed Ms. Karp. "They fight over territory and resources sometimes." Lissa knelt down, compassion on her face.**

"You are going to heal it in front of a teacher, aren't you?" Adrian asked, looking slightly confused. Lissa nods, I sigh.

**I wasn't surprised, since she'd always had a thing for animals. She'd lectured me for days after I'd instigated the infamous hamster-and-hermit-crab fight. I'd viewed the fight as a testing of worthy opponents. She'd seen it as animal cruelty. Transfixed, she reached toward the raven. **

"**Liss!" I exclaimed, horrified. "It's probably got a disease." But her hand moved out like she hadn't even heard me. **

"I hadn't. Well, I remember hearing your voice but not what was said."

**Ms. Karp stood there like a statue, her white face looking like a ghost's. Lissa's fingers stroked the raven's wings. **

"**Liss," I repeated, starting to move toward her, to pull her back. Suddenly, a strange sensation flooded through my head, a sweetness that was beautiful and full of life. The feeling was so intense, it stopped me in my tracks. Then the raven moved. Lissa gave a small scream and snatched her hand back. We both stared wide-eyed. The raven flapped its wings, slowly trying to right itself and stand up. When it managed to do so, it turned toward us, fixing Lissa with a look that seemed too intelligent for a bird. **

"It died right? So it's probably shadowed kissed, which would explain why it looked that way." Christian looked at the book at to try and figure it out.

**Its eyes held hers, and I couldn't read her reaction through the bond. At long last, the raven broke the gaze and lifted into the air, strong wings carrying it away. Wind stirring the leaves was the only sound left. **

"**Oh my God," breathed Lissa. "What just happened?" **

"**Hell if I know," I said, hiding my stark terror. Ms. Karp strode forward and grabbed Lissa's arm, forcefully turning her so that they faced each other. I was there in a flash, ready to take action if Crazy Karp tried anything, though even I had qualms about taking down a teacher. **

"**Nothing happened," said Ms. Karp in an urgent voice, her eyes wild-looking. "Do you hear me? Nothing. And you can't tell anyone-**_**anyone**_**- about what you saw. Both of you. Promise me. Promise me you won't ever talk about this again." **

"Ms. Karp sounds…" Jill began.

"Crazy?" She nods. "She was a spirit user. That much I've found out." No one said anything, so Lissa began to read again.

**Lissa and I exchanged uneasy glances. **

"**okay," she croaked out. Ms. Karp's grip relaxed a little. "And don't ever do it again. If you do, they'll find out. They'll try to find you." She turned to me. **

"**You can't let her do it. Not ever again." On the quad, outside my dorm, someone was saying my name. **

"**Hey, Rose? I've called you, like, a hundred times." I forgot about Ms. Karp and the raven and glanced over at Mason, who had apparently started walking with me toward the dorm while I was off in la-la land. **

Few snickers from my friends. I just huffed and crossed my arms over my chest. I know childish, right? Who cares at this moment?

"**Sorry," I mumbled. "I'm out of it. Just…um, tired." **

"**Too much excitement last night?" I gave him a narrow-eyed look. "Nothing I couldn't handle." **

"**I guess," he laughed, though he didn't exactly sound amused. "Sounds like Jesse couldn't handle it." **

"**He did okay." **

"**If you say so. But personally, I think you've got bad taste." **

Adrian started laughing. When he received a glare from me, he coughed stopping but still clearly amused.

**I stopped walking. "And **_**I**_** don't think it's any of your business." **

**He looked away angrily. "You made it the whole class's business." **

"**Hey, I didn't do that on purpose." **

"**Would've happened anyway. Jesse's got a big mouth." **

"**He wouldn't have told." **

"**Yeah," said Mason. "Because he's so cute and has such an important family." **

"**Stop being an idiot," I snapped. "And why do you even care? Jealous I'm not doing it with you?"**

"Yes." I hear from my friends. Once again I huffed, but other words did not comment.

**His flush grew, going all the way to the roots of his red hair. "I just don't like hearing people talk shit about you, that's all. There are a lot of nasty jokes going around. They're calling you a slut." **

"**I don't care what they call me." **

"**Oh, yeah. You're really tough. You don't need anyone." **

**I stopped. "I don't. I'm one of the best novices in this fucking place.-**

"Your language is quite frequent." Mom muttered, I think mostly to herself than anything else. Lissa continued.

**I don't need you acting all gallant and coming to my defense. Don't treat me like I'm some helpless girl." I turned around and kept walking, but he caught up to me easily. The woes of being five-seven. **

"**Look…I didn't mean to upset you. I'm just worried about you." I gave a harsh laugh. **

"**I'm serious. Wait…" He begun. "I, uh, did something for you. Sort of. I went to the library last night and tried to look up St. Vladimir." **

**I stopped again. "You did?" **

"**Yeah, but there wasn't much on Anna. All the books were kind of generic. Just talked about him healing people, bring them back from the edge of death." **

I see Lissa flinch out of the corner of my eye. Christian gave what looked like a small comforting squeeze of her hand he was holding. She read on, nobody but Christian and I noticed the flinch.

**That last part hit a nerve. "Was…was there anything else?" I stammered. He shook his head. **

"**No. You probably need some primary sources, but we don't have any here." **

"**Primary, what?" he scoffed, a small breaking over his face. **

"**Do you do anything but pass notes? We just talked about them the other day in Andrew's class. They're books from the actual time period you want to study. Secondary one are written by people living today. You'll be better information if you find something written by the guy himself. Or someone who actually knew him." **

"**Huh. Okay. What are you, like, a boy genius now?" **

**Mason gave me a light punch in the arm. "I pay attention, that's all. You're so oblivious. You miss all sorts of things." **

**He smiled nervously. "And look…I really am sorry about what I said. I was just-" **

**Jealous, I realized. I could see it in his eyes. How had I never noticed this before? He was crazy about me. I guess I really was oblivious. **

"You think?" A few mumbled.

"Shut up."

"**It's all right, Mase. Forget about it." I smiled. "And thanks for looking that stuff up." He smiled back, and I went inside, sad that I didn't feel the same way about him. **


	12. Reading Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 11

_Lissa passed _to Christian. Before he could open his mouth the slot where the food comes opened. Meaning dinner, we were making this our last chapter for the night.

"**You need something to wear?" Lissa asked. **

"**Hmm?" I glanced over at her. We were waiting for Mr. Nagy's Slavic art class to start, and I was preoccupied with listening to Mia adamantly deny the claims about her parents to one of her friends. **

"**It's not like they're servants or anything," she exclaimed, clearly flustered. Straightening her face, she tired for haughtiness. "They're practically advisors. The Drozdovs don't decide **_**anything**_** without them." **

**I choked on a laugh, and Lissa shook her head. **

Most everyone shook their heads at me. I rolled my eyes at them, well if she couldn't play the game…

"**You're enjoying this way too much." **

"**Because it's awesome. What'd you just ask me?" I dug through my bag, messily looking for my lip gloss. I made a face when I found it. It was almost empty; I don't know where I was going to score some more. **

I smiled to myself, sneaking a glance at Dimitri, who was basically doing the same thing.

"**I asked if you need something to wear tonight," she said. "Well, **_**yeah**_**, of course I do. But none of your stuff fits me." **

"**What are you going to do?" **

**I shrugged my shoulders. "Improvise, like always. I don't really care anyway. I'm just glad Kirova's letting me go." We had an assembly tonight. It was November 1, All Saints' Day- which also meant we'd been back almost a month now. A royal group was visiting the school, including Queen Tatiana herself. Honestly, that wasn't that excited me. She'd visited the Academy before. **

**It was pretty common and a lot less cool than it sounded. Besides, after living among humans and elected leaders, I didn't think much of stiff royals. Still, I'd gotten permission to go because everyone else would be there. It was a chance to hang out with actual people for a change and not stay locked in my dorm room. A little freedom was definitely worth pain of sitting through a few boring speeches. **

Everyone pretty much nods in agreement.

**I didn't stay to chat with Lissa after school like I usually did. Dimitri had stuck to his promise about extra trainings, and I was trying to stick to mine. I now had two additional hours of practice with him, one before **_**and **_**one after school. The more I watched him in action, the more I understood the badass-god**

Dimitri shook his head at the 'badass-god' part. I laughed and smiled at him. He turned slightly to me, eyebrow raised.

"Not, stopping the Badass-god thing, Comrade. Get use to it." An exasperated sigh came from his lips shaking his head again. I turned to see everyone had watched the confrontation. A little embarrassed, I motioned Christian to keep reading, with a smirk he does.

**Reputation. He clearly knew a lot-his six Molnija marks proved as much- and I burned to have him teach me what he knew. **

Adrian snickered. Knowing exactly what he was thinking, I said.

"Mind out of gutter, Adrian."

**When I arrived at the gym, I noticed he was wearing a T-shirt and loose running pants. **

As Christian described the situation for a moment, and then what a basically element about Strigoi that I needed to know. Then it went to him teaching me a basic move, then joking around with him. To the moment, I jumped on his back and he threw me to the throw.

"**Would it have really made a difference if I'd been quiet?" **

**He thought about it. "No. Probably not." I sighed loudly, still too much of a good mood to really let this disappointment get me down. There were some advantages to having such a kick-ass mentor-one who also happened to have a foot of height on me and outweighed me considerably. And that wasn't even considerably his strength. **

**He wasn't bulky, but his body had a lot of hard, lean muscle. If I could ever beat **_**him, **_**I could beat anyone. **

I slightly laughed to myself. It is kind of weird, hearing yourself think about someone. Especailly when that someone was sitting right next to you. I know it is also going to keep getting embarrassing as we read on. But he pretty much already knew what I thought about him… At least I hope.

**And oh **_**God**_**, did he smell good. Breathing became difficult for me, and it had nothing to do with the workout or my lungs being crushed. I would have given anything to be able to read his mind right then. Ever since that night in the lounge, I'd noticed him watching me with the same, studious expression. He never actually did it during the training themselves-those were **_**business**_**. But before and after, he would sometimes lighten up just a little, and I'd see him look at me in a way that was almost admiring. And sometimes, if I was really, really lucky, he'd smile at me. **

I smiled but at the same time not tiring to, I looked at the ground. Ignoring the looks my parents are giving Dimitri and I.

**A real smile, too-not the dry one that accompanied the sarcasm we tossed around so often. I didn't want to admit it to anyone- not to Lissa, not even to myself- but some days, I lived for those smiles. They lit up his face. "Gorgeous" no longer adequately described him. Hoping to appear calm, I tried to think of something professional and guardian-related to say. Instead, I said, "So um…you got any other moves to show me?" **

Eddie and Adrian laughed, while Lissa tried to contain a giggle.

**His lips twitched, and for a moment, I thought I was going to get one of those smiles. My heart leapt. Then, with visible effort, he pushed the smile back and once more became my tough-love mentor. He shifted off me, leaned back on his heels, and rose. **

"**Come on. We should go." **

I got up myself, saying I had to use the bathroom and for them to continue without me. Two days, since we started that book and the whole thing like years away, from the beginning to ending, not that it had happened months ago. I looked in the mirror, deciding to splash my face for a moment. I somehow knew that the next book would be about Mason, Isaiah, Elena, and us being kidnapped. It was too soon to relive all that, I wasn't even sure if I had forgiven myself yet for letting Mason die.

Though, I do know that there was probably nothing I could've done to fix it. Dimitri was right, Mason had made up his mind and that was to save me. Or… help me. I shook my head and walked out. Christian paused for a minute, seeming to wait until I sat back down where I was and tuned in when he began.

"**Vasilisa Dragomir." My head shot up. Alarm coursed through the bond at the sound of her name. Breaking protocol, I paused out of my position and wiggled over to get a better view, knowing no one would notice me when the queen herself had personally singled out the last of the Dragomirs. Everyone was eager to see what the monarch had to say to Lissa the runaway princess. **

"**We heard you had return. We are glad to have the Dragomirs back, even though only one remains. We deeply regret the loos of your parents and your brother; they were among the finest of the Moroi, their deaths a true tragedy." I'd never really understood the royal "we" thing, but otherwise, everything sounded okay. **

"Until she opened her mouth again." I glared at the book, Adrian sighed.

"My aunt has an interesting way of expressing things, so this would be interesting to hear right now." Taking that as his queue, Christian read.

"**You have an interesting name," she continued. "Many heroines in Russian fairy tales are named Vasilisa. Vasilisa the Brave, Vasilisa the beautiful. They are different young women, all having the same name and the same excellent qualities: strength, intelligence, discipline, and virtue. All accomplish great things, triumphing over their adversaries. Likewise, the Dragomir name commands its own respect. Dragomir kings and queens have ruled wisely and justly in our history. They have used their powers for miraculous ends. They have slain Strigoi, fighting right alongside their guardians. They are **_**royal**_** for a reason."**

"That didn't sound so bad." Jill said clearly confused. Adrian answered for us.

"She's not finished."

**She waited a moment, letting the weight of her words sink in. I could feel the mood changing in the room, as well as the surprise and shy pleasure creeping out from Lissa. This would shake the social balance. We could probably expect a few wannabes trying to get in good with Lissa tomorrow. **

"**Yes," Tatiana continued, "you are doubly named with power. Your names represent the finest qualities people have to offer and hearken back in time to deeds of greatness and valor." She paused a moment. "But, as you have demonstrated, names do **_**not**_** make a person. Nor do they have any bearing on how that person turns out." **

"That's my aunt. Compliments you, then tears it down into an insult. Seen it many times."

"I kind of want to know what Rose, thought of this." Eddie said. He would get his answer in a moment.

"Basically I wanted to attack her." Adrian chuckled nodding. As it was _so_ like me.

**And with that verbal slap in the face, she turned away and continued her procession. A collective shock filled the room. I briefly contemplated and then dismissed any attempts at jumping into the aisle and attacking the queen. Half a dozen guardians would have me down on the floor before I'd even taken five steps. So I sat impatiently through dinner, all the while feeling Lissa's absolute mortification. **

"See I think things out." I crossed my arms over my chest and gave them a smug look.

**When the post-dinner reception followed, Lissa made a beeline for the doors leading out to the courtyard. I followed, but got delayed having to weave around and avoid the mingling, socializing people. She'd wandered outside to an adjacent courtyard, one that matched the Academy's grand external carved, twisting wood covered the garden, with little holes here and there to let in some light, but not enough to cause damage to Moroi. Trees, leaves now gone for the winter, lined the area and guarded paths leading out to other gardens, courtyards, and the main quadrangle. A pond, also emptied for the winter, lay in a corner, and standing over it was an impressing statue of St. Vladimir himself. Carved of gray rock, he wore long robes and had a beard and mustache. **

"You know. The amount of detail you have, is really weird." Jill mumbled.

"Part of being and learning to be a guardian."

**Rounding a corner, I stopped when I saw Natalie had beaten me to Lissa. I considered interrupting but stepped back before they could see me. Spying might be bad, but I was suddenly very curious to hear what Natalie had to say to Lissa. **

"**She shouldn't have said that," Natalie said. She wore a yellow dress similar in cut to Lissa's, but somehow lacked the grace and poise to make it look as good. Yellow was also a terrible color on her. It clashed with her black hair, which she'd put up into an off-center bun. **

I zoned out again, which would probably be happening a lot. I didn't zone back in after a while.

**Empty threats. I leaned forward, making my voice as menacing as possible. In my current mood, it wasn't difficult. **

"**Yeah? Try and touch me now and find out." I hoped she would. I wanted her to. We didn't need her messed-up vendetta in our lives just now. She was a distraction-one I very much wanted to punch right now. Looking past her, I saw Dimitri move out into the garden, eyes searching for something-or someone. I had a pretty good idea who it was. When he saw me, he strode forward, shifting his attention when he noticed the crowd gathered around us. Guardians can smell a fight a mile away. Of course, a six-year-old could have smelled his fight. Dimitri stood beside me and crossed his arms. **

"**Everything all right?" **

"**Sure thing, Guardian Belikov." I smiled as I said it, but I was furious. Raging, even. This whole Mia confrontation had only made Lissa feel worse.**

Zoning out once again, I didn't realize I had until everyone stood up to finally go to bed. I stretched my body a moment, then walked to my bed. Christian and Lissa got on the bed above me. They moved to where they were comfortable and stopped. I looked across from me at Dimitri who had one knee up and his hands behind his head, breathing deeply. I glanced up above Dimitri at Eddie who seemed to be facing the wall. I looked at the bunk bed where Abe and mom were. Mom was on the top bunk, her back towards the wall, like she was watching all of us. Abe was on his back, hands behind his head looking up. Glancing at Adrian's and Jill's bunk Adrian was facing the wall and Jill was on her stomach. Everyone looked like they had passed out as soon as they hit their pillows.


	13. Reading Chapter 12-1

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 12 (Part _ONE_)

_Breakfast had_ come quickly the next morning. We all talked more than anything so far. Giving us a slight break before we started to read once again. Truly we didn't start to read again until lunch. I decided to read again so I took the book and opened it.

**Chapter Twelve. **

**Sleep came reluctantly that night, and I tossed and turned for a long time before finally going under. An hour or so later, I sat up in bed, trying to relax and sort out the emotions coming to me. Lissa. Scared and upset. Unstable. The night's events suddenly came rushing back to me as I went through what could be bothering her. The queen humiliating her. Mia. Maybe even Christian-he could have found her for all I knew. Yet…none of those was the problem right now. Buried within her, there was something else. Something terribly wrong. I climbed out of bed, dressed hastily, and considered my options. **

**I had a third-floor room now-way too high to climb down from, particularly since I had no Ms. Karp to patch me up this time. I would never be able to sneak out of the main hall. That only left going through the "appropriate" channels. **

"**Where do you think you're going?" **

"Probably getting Belikov." Adrian said, I nod to him and read.

**One of the matrons who supervised my hall looked up from her chair. She sat stationed at the end of the hall, near the stairs going down. During the day, that stairwell had loose supervision. At night, we might as well have been in jail. **

**I crossed my arms. "I need to see Dim-Guardian Belikov." **

"At least you corrected yourself." Mom grumbled. I bit my tongue at remarking something to her, but didn't because I was supposed to be reading.

"**It's late." **

"**It's an emergency." **

**She looked me up and down. "You seem okay to me." **

"**You're going to get in so much trouble tomorrow when everyone finds out you stopped me from reporting what I know." **

"**Tell me." **

"**It's private guardian stuff." **

I smiled despite myself.

**I gave her as hard a stare as I could manage. It must have worked, because she finally stood up and pulled out a cell phone. She called someone-Dimitri, I hoped- but murmured too low for me to hear. We waited several minutes, and then the door leading to the stairs opened. Dimitri appeared, fully dressed and alert, thought I felt pretty sure we'd pulled him out of bed. **

"You did." Dimitri said, nodding his head.

**He took one look at me. **

"**Lissa." **

"How did you know it was about me?" The girl in question asked.

"I know, Rose wouldn't have asked for me otherwise." Lissa seemed to like the answer, but I knew what Dimitri said was a lie. We both just knew each other that well.

**I nodded. Without another word, he turned around and started back down the stairs. I followed. We walked across the quad in silence, toward the imposing Moroi dorm. It was "night" for the vampires, which meant it was daytime for the rest of the world. **

Oh. How I am missing the rest of the world right now.

**Mid-afternoon sunshine with a cold, golden light on us. The human genes in me welcomed it and always sort of regretted how Moroi light sensitivity forced us to live in darkness most of the time. Lissa's hall matron gaped when we appeared, but Dimitri was too intimidating to oppose. **

"**She's in the bathroom," I told them. When the matron started to follow me inside, I wouldn't let her. **

"**She's too upset. Let me talk to her alone first." **

**Dimitri considered. "Yes. Give them a minute." I pushed the door open. **

"**Liss?" **

"I remember this." I heard Lissa whisper. Ignoring her I read on.

**A soft sound, like a sob, came from within. I walked down five stalls and found the only one closed. I knocked softly. **

"**Let me in," I said, hoping I sounded calm and strong. I heard a sniffle, and a few moments later, the door unlatched. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Lissa stood before me…covered in blood. **

**Horrified, I squelched a scream and almost called for help. Looking more closely, I saw that a lot of the blood wasn't actually coming from her. It was smeared on her, like it had been on her hands and she'd rubbed her face. She sank to the floor, and I followed, kneeling before her. **

"**Are you okay?" I whispered. "What happened?" **

"As good as I could've been." Lissa mumbled. Christian brought her as close as he could without bring her into his lap.

**She shook her head, but I saw her face crumple as more tears spilled from her eyes. I took her hands. **

"**Come on. Let's get you cleaned-" I stopped. She **_**was**_** bleeding after all. Perfect lines crossed her wrists, not near any crucial veins, but enough to leave wet, red tracks across her skin. **

Everyone turned to look at her. Though, most everyone knew she had cut, they didn't know about this incident. I moved on, knowing she didn't want this attention, at all.

**She hadn't hit her veins when she did this; death hadn't been her goal. She met my eyes. "I'm sorry…I didn't mean…Please don't let them know…" she sobbed. "When I saw **_**it**_**, I freaked out." She nodded toward her wrists. "This just happened before I could stop. I was upset…" **

"**It's okay," I said automatically, wondering what 'it' was. "Come on." **

**I heard a knock on the door. "Rose?" **

"**Just a sec," I called back. **

"I should've just gone in." I heard Dimitri mumble.

**I took her to the sink and rinsed the blood off her wrists. Grabbing the first-aid kit, I hastily put some Band-Aids on the cuts. The bleeding had already slowed. **

"**We're coming in," the matron called. I jerked off my hoodie sweatshirt and quickly handed it to Lissa. She had just put it on when Dimitri and the matron entered. He raced to our sides in an instant, and I realized that in hiding Lissa's wrists, I'd forgotten the blood on her face.**

"**It's not mine," she said quickly, seeing his expression. "It…it's the rabbit…" Dimitri assessed her, and I hoped he wouldn't look at her wrists. **

"Which you should've told me about." Dimitri gave me a pointed look and I just shrug.

"It's in the past." Was all I said before I had read more.

**When he seemed satisfied she had no gaping wounds, he asked, "What rabbit?" I was wondering the same thing. With shaking hands, she pointed at the trash can. **

"**I cleaned it up. So Natalie wouldn't see." Dimitri and I both walked over and peered into the can. I pulled myself away immediately, swallowing back my stomach's need to throw up. I don't know how Lissa knew it was a rabbit. All I could see was blood. Blood and blood-soaked paper towels. Globs of gore I couldn't identify. The smell was horrible. **

I looked up, and it had seemed Christian, Eddie, Jill, and Adrian were thinking what it would've looked like and Lissa knew what it looked it. But they all looked slightly a little green with their imagination.

**Dimitri shifted closer to Lissa, bending down until they were at eye level. "Tell me what happened." He handed her several tissues. "I came back about an hour ago. And it was there. Right there in the middle of the floor. Torn apart. It was like it had…exploded."**

Glancing up at everyone; who looked like they were holding back their throw up.

**She sniffed. "I didn't want Natalie to find it, didn't want to scare her…so I-I cleaned it up. Then I just couldn't… I couldn't go back…" She began to cry, and her shoulders shook. I could figure out the rest, the part she didn't tell Dimitri. She'd found the rabbit, cleaned up, and freaked out. Then she'd cut herself, but it was the weird way she coped with things that upset her. **

"**No one should be able to get into those rooms!" exclaimed the matron. "How is this happening?"**

"That should've been hint number one. Natalie and Lissa were the only ones able to get into that room… well besides Matrons of course." I said a loud, not giving time for anyone to agree or disagree I moved on.

"**Do you know who did it?" Dimitri's voice was gentle. Lissa reached into her pajama pocket and pulled out a crumpled piece of paper. It had so much blood soaked into it, I could barely read it as he held it and smoothed it out. **

_**I know what you are. You won't survive being here. I'll make sure of it. Leave now. It's the only way you might live through this. **_

I saw Lissa shudder.

**The matron's shock transformed into something more determined, and she headed for the door. "I'm getting Ellen." It took me a second to remember that was Kirova's first name. "Tell her we'll be at the clinic," Said Dimitri. When she left, he turned to Lissa. "You should lie down." When she didn't move, I linked my arm through hers. **

"**Come on, Liss. Let's get you out of here." Slowly, she put one foot in front of the other and let us lead her to the Academy's medical clinic. It was normally staffed by a couple of doctors, but at this time of night, only a nurse stayed on duty. **

"Only you would know that, Rose." Christian mumbled.

"You didn't? Am I the only novice that knew that?" I looked around the room, well at least to Eddie. When he nods his head, I threw my hands up in the air. "Seriously?! Sorry I get hurt a lot." Adrian and Christian chuckled as I pouted, some.

**She offered to wake one of the doctors, but Dimitri declined. "She just needs to rest." Lissa had no sooner stretched out on a narrow bed than Kirova and a few others showed up and started questioning her. I thrust- **

Adrian snickers. I rolled my eyes at him and continued to ignore him.

**Myself in front of them, blocking her. "Leave her alone! Can't you see she doesn't want to talk about it? Let her get some sleep first!" **

"**Miss Hathaway," declared Kirvoa, "you're out of line as usual. I don't even know what you're doing here." Dimitri asked if he could speak with her privately and led her into the hall. I heard angry whispers from her, calm and firm ones from her for a little while. We'll have janitors do further cleaning and investigation in the bathroom and your room, Miss Dragomir, and then discuss the situation in detail in the morning." **

"**Don't wake Natalie," whispered Lissa. "I don't want to scare her. I cleaned up everything in the room anyway." Kirova looked doubtful. The group retreated but not before the nurse asked if Lissa wanted anything to eat or drink. She declined. Once we were alone, I lay down beside her and put my arm around her. **

"Looks like you got some competition, Ozera." Adrian said to Christian, one side of his lips lifted in this half grin type thing.

"Please. I am not competition with Rose."

"Yeah. 'cause I am better." Lissa giggled at Christian's glare at me.

"**I won't let them find out," I told her, sensing her worry about her wrists. "But I wish you'd told me before I left the reception. You'd said you'd always come to me first."**

"**I wasn't going to do it then," she said, her eyes staring blanky off. "I swear, I wasn't going to. I mean, I was upset…but I thought…I thought I could handle it. I was trying so hard… really, Rose. I was. But then I got back to my room, and I saw **_**it, **_**and I…just lost it. It was like the last straw, you know? And I knew I had to clean it up. Had to clean it up before they saw, before they found out, but there was so much blood…and afterward, after it was done, it was too much, and I felt I was going to…I don't know…explode, and it was just too much, I had to let it out, you know? I had to-"**

"Had to what?" Jill asked. I glanced up at her, silently telling to shut it, before reading more.

**I interrupted her hysteria. "It's okay, I understand." That was a lie. I didn't get her cutting at all. She'd done it sporadically, ever since the accident, and it scared me each time. She'd try to explain it to me, how she didn't want to die-she just needed to get **_**it **_**out somehow. She felt so much emotionally, she would say, that a physical outlet-physical pain- was the only way to make the internal pain go away. It was the only way she could control it. **

"**Why is this happening?" she cried into her pillow. "Why am I a freak?" **

"You're aren't a freak." Christian says, smiling at her.

"**You aren't a freak." **

"Ha! You think like Rose." Adrian says, smirking at Christian and my discuss looking faces.

"**No one else had this happen to them. No one else does magic like I can." **

"I can." Adrian pouted, some.

"**Did you try to do magic?" No answer. "Liss? Did you try to heal the rabbit?" **

"**I reached out, just to see if I could maybe fix it, but there was just too much blood…I couldn't." **

"You just want to heal everything, don't you?" Jill asked.

"Of course." Christian and I answered at the same time. Adrian completed the thought.

"Spirit has a mind of its own. Basically you always want to use it, even though you know you shouldn't. Lissa's is healing. Mine is seeing Auras, which is annoying. I don't want to see everyone's feelings, though it's a good lair detecting thing. Then the minor things; me with dream walking and Lissa with compulsion, these we can control because it isn't all the time."

"Which is why he drinks, it blocks it. And I take this darkness from Liss… right Adrian." He nods slightly. I give a firm nod and continuing reading.

_**The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. **_**Lissa was right. Moroi magic could conjure fire and water, move rocks and other pieces of earth. But no one could heal or bring animals back from the dead. No one except Ms. Karp. **_**Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here. **_**I hated carrying this secret, mostly because I didn't know what to do about it. I didn't like feeling powerless. I needed to protect her from this- and from herself. And yet, at the same time, I needed to protect her from them, too. **

"**We should go," I said abruptly. "We're going to leave." **

"What is up with you and wanting to leave all the time?" Jill once again questioned, I ignored her.

"**Rose-"**

"**It's happening again. And it's worse. Worse than last time." **

"**You're afraid of the note." **

"No. I wasn't."

"**I'm not afraid of any note. But this place isn't safe." I suddenly longed for Portland again. It might be dirtier and more crowded than the rugged Montana landscape, but at least you knew what to expect-not like here. Here at the Academy, past and present warred with each other. It might have its beautiful old walls and gardens, but inside, modern have its beautiful old walls and gardens, but inside, modern things were creeping in. People didn't know how to handle that. It was just like the Moroi themselves. Their archaic royal families still held the power on the surface, but people were growing discontent. **

**Dhampirs who wanted more to their lives. Moroi like Christian who wanted to fight the Strigoi. The royals still clung to their traditions, still touted their power over everyone else, just as the Academy's elaborate iron gates put on a show of tradition and invincibility. **

"Don't forget the Lies and Secrets that basically help run the place. Little Girl." Abe commented, smirking, I glanced at him. I knew he basically made business out of those Secrets and Lies. I looked down and laughed slightly, shaking my head. I gave Abe an amused look before reading the next line.

**And, oh, the lies and secrets. They ran through the halls and hid in the corners. Someone here hated Lissa, someone who was probably smiling right to her face and pretending to be her friend. **

"I like how you pointed it out. But couldn't put it together that Natalie was the one who was doing it." Christian looked at me.

"None of us thought that. Natalie was… well Natalie." I shrug.

**I couldn't let them destroy her. "You need to get some sleep," I told her. **

"**I can't sleep." **

"**Yes, you can. I'm right here. You won't be alone." Anxiety and fear and other troubled emotions coursed through her. But in the end, her body's need won out. After a while, I saw her eyes close. Her breathing became even , and the bond grew quiet. I watched her sleep, too keyed up with adrenaline to allow myself any rest. I think maybe an hour had passed when the nurse returned and told me I had to leave. **

"**I can't go," I said. "I promised her she wouldn't be alone." **

**The nurse was tall, even for a Moroi, with kind brown eyes. "She won't be. I'll stay with her." I regarded her skeptically. **

"**I promise." **

"Next reader." I got tired of reading, as it was a pretty long chapter. The old man, took the book and began.


	14. Reading Chapter 12-2

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 12 (Part _Two_)

_Abe cleared_ his throat.

**Back in my room, I had my own crash. The fear and excitement had worn me out too, and for an instant, I wished I could have a normal life and a normal best friend.**

_HEY! _Lissa says through the bond.

**Immediately, I cast that thought out. **

I gave Lissa and looked and she looked down, slightly embarrassed.

**No one was normal, not really. And I'd never have a better friend than Lissa…but man, it was so hard sometimes. I slept heavily until morning. I went to my first class tentatively, nervous that word about last night had gotten around. As it turned out, people **_**were**_** talking about last night, but their attention was still focused on the queen and the reception. They knew nothing about the rabbit. As hard as it was to believe, I'd nearly forgotten about that other stuff. Still, it suddenly seemed like a small thing compared to someone causing a bloody explosion in Lissa's room. **

"Your description, Rose…" Mom shook her head mostly, what looked like to herself than anything else.

**Yet, as the day went on, I noticed something weird. People stopped looking at Lissa so much. The started looking at **_**me**_**.**

Jill's face scrunched up in confusion. "Why?" Practically everyone that worked or went to St. Vlad at that moment in time and was in the high school level knew, no one answered. But it looked like my parents wanted to know the same thing.

**Whatever. Ignoring them, I hunted around and found Lissa finishing up with a feeder. That funny feeling I always for came over me as I watched her mouth work against the feeder's neck, drinking his blood. **

"You're making sound like I was giving him a hickey or something…sexual." Lissa commented, scrunching up her nose. I only shrugged.

**A trickle of it ran down his throat, standing out against his pale skin. Feeders, though human, were nearly as pale as Moroi from all the blood loss. He didn't seem to notice; he was long gone on the high of the bite. Drowning in jealously, I decided I needed therapy. **

"Is hell freezing over?" Christian looked shocked. "Rose just admitted she needed psychiatric help." Ignoring him, Abe continued.

"**You okay?" I asked her later, on our way to class. She wore long sleeves, purposefully obscuring her wrists. **

"**Yeah…I still can't stop thinking about that rabbit…It was so horrible. I keep seeing it in my head. And then what I did." She squeezed her eyes shut, just for a moment, and then opened them again. "People are talking about us." **

"**I know. Ignore them." **

"**I **_**hate **_**it," she said angrily. A surge of darkness shot up into her and through the bond. It made me cringe. My best friend was lighthearted and kind. She didn't have feelings like that. "I hate all the gossip. It's so stupid. How can they all be so shallow?" **

"**Ignore them," I repeated soothingly. "You were smart not to hang out with them anymore." **

"That is really all you can do with anything." Adrian mumbled his eyebrows furrowed as he looked like he was concentrating.

**Ignoring them grew harder and harder, though. The whispers and looks increased. In animal behavior, it became so bad, I couldn't even concentrate on my now-favorite subject. Ms. Meissner had started talking about evolution and survival of the fittest and how animals sought mates with good genes. It fascinated me, but even she had a hard time staying on task, since she had to keep yelling at people to quiet down and pay attention. **

"**Something's going on," I told Lissa between classes. "I don't know what, but they're all over something new." **

"**Something else? Other than the queen hating me? What more could there be?" **

"**Wish I knew."**

"Taking it that we're fixing to find out what it was." Jill asked. I slowly nod to her.

**Things finally came to a head in our last class of the day, Slavic art. It started when a guy I barely knew made a very explicit and nearly obscene suggestion to me while we all worked on individual projects. I replied in kind, letting him know exactly what he could do with his request. **

**He only laughed. "Come on, Rose. I **_**bleed **_**for you." **

Abe paused for a moment like he either knew what it was now or that he was trying to figure it out, it was probably the former. Then read on.

**Loud giggles ensued, and Mia cut us a taunting look. "Wait, it's Rose who does the bleeding, right?" **

**More laughter. Understanding slapped me in the face. I jerked Lissa away. "They know." **

"**Know what?" **

"**About us. About how you…you know, how I fed you while we were gone."**

"A little slow, there Liss." Adrian raised one of his eyebrows at her and she just shrug.

**She gaped. "How?" **

"The only people that knew were Dimitri, Christian, Rose, Lissa, and… Jesse right? But wasn't he scared of Dimitri? Seems stupid to place a rumor about in risking it." Jill thoughts announced.

"Firstly, I thought the same thing. So we went to Christian… Which is up next. But reasoning and who it was is up, so hold the questions until it's done, maybe they'll be answered." I looked over at Jill, giving her an amused look when I saw her slightly blush.

"**How do you think? Your 'friend' Christian." **

"**No," she said adamantly. "He wouldn't have."**

"And I didn't." Looking smug, I sh'd him.

"**Who else knew?" Faith in Christian flashed in her eyes and in our bond. But she didn't know what I knew. She didn't know how I'd bitched him out last night, how I'd made him think she hated him. The guy was unstable.**

Christian snorted. "Yeah. _I'm_ the unstable one." Ignoring him.

**Spreading our biggest secret-well, one of them-would be an adequate revenge. Maybe he'd killed the rabbit, too. **

Christian shot me a look, which I promptly pretended like I didn't notice.

**After all, it had died only a couple hours after I'd told him off. Not waiting around to hear her protests, I stalked off to the other side of the room where Christian was working by himself, as usual. Lissa followed in my wake. Not caring if people saw us, I leaned across the table toward him, putting my face inches from his. **

"**I'm going to kill you." His eyes darted to Lissa, the faintest glimmer of longing in them,**

I saw a faint blush, creep on his face. Choosing for once not to point it out and listen to Abe.

**And then a scowl spread over his face. "Why? Is it like guardian extra credit?" **

"You two did not like each other, very much. How do you even stand in the same room without killing each other?" Another question came from Jill. I glanced at Christian as he did the same to me. We both shrug.

"It's the common item between them," Adrian began looking at Jill. "Lissa. They both want her safe and will do anything to keep her safe."

"**Stop with the attitude," I warned, pitching my voice low. "You told. You told how Lissa had to feed off me."**

"**Tell her," said Lissa desperately. "Tell her she's wrong." **

**Christian dragged his eyes from me to her, and as they regarded each other, I felt such a powerful wave of attraction, it was a wonder it didn't knock me over. **

"You should see their auras." Adrian looked at them and grimacing, slightly. "It's just as annoying as yours and Belikov's." He looked at us, blinking then looked down quickly.

"I really need a drink." Adrian clutched his head with his hands slightly. Lissa and I both looked at each other then back at him worryingly. Lissa reached over Christian placing a hand on his back, healing some of the darkness he had accumulated while being here. Almost immediately, his body sagged and he looked up graciously at her, before he looked over at me, worryingly.

Like he knew, I was taking the darkness out of Lissa now, which I was but I knew he was looking worried about my aura. I looked over at Abe, who raised his eyebrow at us. Ignoring that he might ask what just happened, I asked him to read more.

**Her heart was in her eyes. It was obvious to me he felt the same way about her, but she couldn't see it, particularly since he was still glaring at her. "You can stop it, you know," he said. "You don't have to pretend anymore." **

**Lissa's giddy attraction vanished, replaced by hurt and shock over his tone. "I…what? Pretend what?" **

"**You **_**know **_**what. Just stop. Stop with the act." Lissa stared at him, her eyes wide and wounded. She had no clue I'd gone off on him last night. **

I saw Jill fixing to open her mouth to comment. But she glanced at Eddie and Adrian, who both shook their heads and she quickly closed it. Guessing they knew, I was losing my patience with all her questions.

**She had no clue that he believed she hated him. "Get over feeling sorry for yourself, and tell us what's going on," I snapped at him. **

"I like how she demanded the answer." Adrian smirked, while I rolled my eyes.

"He was a nobody. Nobody paid attention to him, didn't care if he was around. So he got the rumors of basically everything, and knew where they came from because no one had a second thought about him," I glanced at him. "Well, that was before he started dating Lissa."

"**Did you or didn't you tell them?" **

**He fixed me with a defiant look. "No. I didn't."**

"**I don't believe you." **

"**I do," said Lissa. **

"**I know it's impossible to believe a **_**freak-**_

"Hey! A freak plus a freak equals relationship." Lissa mocked glared at me, while I tried looking innocent. I heard Dimitri laughing under his breath, I turned and smiled at him. He raised his eyebrow, with a very amused look on his face.

**Like me could keep his mouth shut-especially since neither of you can-but I have better things to do than spread stupid rumors. You want someone to blame? Blame your golden boy over there." I followed his gaze to where Jesse was laughing about something with that idiot Ralf.**

"**Jesse doesn't know," said Lissa defiantly. Christian's eyes were glued to me. **

"**He **_**does**_**, though. Doesn't he, Rose? He knows." My stomach sank out of me. Yes. Jesse did know. He'd figure it out that night in the lounge. "I didn't think…I didn't think he'd tell. He was too afraid of Dimitri." **

"**You **_**told**_** him?" exclaimed Lissa. **

"In not so many words." Adrian commented, waving one of his hands in the air. Abe looked like he was getting angrier at the second… And you say, overprotective?

"**No, he guessed." I stared to feel sick. **

"**He apparently did more than guess," muttered Christian. **

**I turned on him. "What's that supposed to mean?"**

"**Oh. You don't know." **

"**I swear to God, Christian, I'm going to break your neck after class." **

The old man nods approving, while mom and Dimitri shake their heads. I slightly sigh, contradiction between my parents.

"**Man, you really are unstable." He said it almost happily, but his next words were more serious. He still wore that sneer, still glowed with anger, but when he spoke, I could hear the faintest uneasiness in his voice. "He sort of elaborated on what was in your note. Got into a little more detail." **

"**Oh, I get it. He said we had sex." I didn't need to need to mince words. Christian nodded. So. Jesse was trying to boost his own reputation. Okay. That I could deal with. Not like my reputation was that stellar to begin with. Everyone already believed I had sex all the time. **

"And yet you're a virgin." Adrian commented. I narrowed my eyes at him.

"**And uh, Ralf too. That you and he-" Ralf? No amount of alcohol or any illegal substance would make me touch him. **

"**I-what? That I had sex with Ralf too?" Christian nodded. "That asshole! I'm going to-"**

"**There's more."**

"How can there possibly be more?" Jill questioned. Everyone in the room seventeen and up, knew what there was either because they had heard the rumors themselves or they weren't that stupid. Jill wasn't stupid, just…_way_ too innocent.

"**How? Did I sleep with the basketball team?" **

Very few snickers were heard.

"Rose, we don't have a basketball team." Eddie said chuckling.

"I know, that I am not stupid."

"**He said-they both said-you let them…well, you let them drink your blood." **

**That stopped even me. Drinking blood during sex. The dirtiest of the dirty. Sleazy. Beyond being easy or a slut. A gazillion times worse than Lissa drinking from me for survival. Blood-whore territory.**

"**That's crazy!" Lissa cried. "Rose would never-Rose?" **

**But I wasn't listening anymore. I was in my own world, a world that took me across the classroom to where Jesse and Ralf sat. They both looked up, faces half smug and half…nervous, if I had to guess. Not unexpected, since they were both lying through their teeth. The entire class came to a standstill. Apparently they'd been expecting some type of showdown. **

"What was the teacher doing this whole time?" Mom asked. Christian, Lissa, and I shrug in response.

**My unstable reputation in action. **

"**What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked in a low, dangerous voice. Jesse's nervous look turned to one of terror. He might have been taller than me, but we both knew who would win if I turned violent. **

"He seems terrified of you. So…" Jill furrowed her eyebrows in thought. "It couldn't been him that started it." I slightly smiled at her but didn't comment.

**Ralf, however, gave me a cocky smile. "We didn't do anything you didn't want us to do." His smile turned cruel. "And don't even think about laying a hand on us. You start a fight, and Kirova'll kick you out to go live with the other blood whores." **

**The rest of the students were holding their breaths, waiting to see what we'd do. I don't know how Mr. Nagy could have been oblivious to the drama occurring in his class. I wanted to punch both of them, hit them so hard that it'd make Dimitri's brawl with Jesse look like a pat on the back. I wanted to wipe that smirk off Ralf's face. **

"Did you?" I looked at Jill then pointed to the book. Abe took that to keep reading, he was clutching the book between his fingers, so hard his knuckles were turning white. Diffidently overprotective.

**But asshole or not, he was right. If I touched them, Kirova would expel me in the blink of an eye. And if I got kicked out, Lissa would be alone. Taking a deep breath, I made one of the hardest decisions of my life. **

**I walked away. **

"What?" Jill said.

**The rest of the day was miserable. In backing down from the fight, I opened myself up to mockery from everyone else. The rumors and whispers grew louder. People stared at me openly. People laughed. Lissa kept trying to talk to me, to console me, but I ignored even her. I went through the rest of my classes like zombie, and then I headed off to practice with Dimitri as fast I could. He gave me a puzzled look but didn't ask any questions. **

"More out of surprised, that you weren't late." He glanced at me.

**Alone in my room later on, I cried for the first time in years. **

No one caught, the slight paused and the deep breath Abe gave before reading on.

**Once I got that out of my system, I was about to put on my pajamas when I heard a knock at my door. Dimitri. He studied my face and then glanced away, obviously aware I'd been crying. I could tell, too, that the rumors had finally reached him. He knew.**

Dimitri slightly nods.

"**Are you okay?"**

"**It doesn't matter if I am, remember?" I looked up at him. "Is Lissa okay? This'll be hard on her." A funny look crossed his face. I think it astonished him that I'd still be worried about her at a time like this. **

"Of course I was. This isn't a light rumor and it _had_ truths behind it. But I didn't except you to be thinking about Lissa, you were the one hurting not her." Dimitri told me seriously. I just nod.

**He beckoned me to follow and led me out to a back stairwell, one that usually stayed locked to students. But it was open tonight, and he gestured me outside. "Five minutes," he warned.**

**More curious than ever, I stepped outside. Lissa stood there. I should have sensed she was close, but my own out-of-control feelings had obscured hers. Without a word, she put her arms around me and held me for several moments. I had to hold back more tears. When we broke apart, she looked at me with calm, level eyes. **

"**I'm sorry," she said. **

"**Not your fault. It'll pass." She clearly doubted that. So did I. **

"**It **_**is**_** my fault," she said. "She did it to get back at me."**

"**She?" **

"**Mia. Jesse and Ralf aren't smart enough to think of something like that on their own. You said it yourself: Jesse was too scared of Dimitri to talk much about what happened. And why wait until now? It happened a while ago. If he'd wanted to spread stuff around, he would have done it back then. Mia's doing this as retaliation for you talking about her parents. I don't know how she managed it, but she's the one who got them to say those things." **

"Wow. Mia must've REALLY not like you two."

"She hated, Lissa. But also me by default." I shrug.

**In my gut, I realized Lissa was right. Jesse and Ralf were the tools; Mia had been the mastermind. "Nothing to be done now," I sighed. **

"**Rose-" **

"**Forget it, Liss. It's done, okay?" She studied me quietly for a few seconds. "I haven't seen you cry in a long time." **

"**I wasn't crying." **

"Ah. But you were Little Dhampir. And it's nothing to be ashamed of… you did have a rough day." Adrian smiled sadly at me.

**A feeling of heartache and sympathy beat through to me from the bond. **

"**She can't do this to you," she argued. I laughed bitterly, half surprised at my own hopelessness. "She already did. She said she'd get back at me, that I wouldn't be able to protect you. She did it. When I go back to classes…" A sickening feeling settled in my stomach. I thought about the friends and respect I'd managed to eke out, despite our low profile. That would be gone. **

"Almost gone, Rose. Almost gone. Some of us didn't believe the rumors… Mason for example. Once he heard, he was pissed, but he knew you wouldn't have done that with Jesse or Ralf. He knew how much you hated them, and he knew you. You aren't that type of person. Yeah, rumors you slept around, but never did he think you actually willingly gave blood." Eddie commented, he frowned for a second. "Besides, survival that is."

**You couldn't came back from something like this. Not among the Moroi. Once a blood whore, always a blood whore. What made it worse was that some dark, secret part of me did like bring bitten. **

"**You shouldn't have to keep protecting me," she said. **

**I laughed. "That's my job. I'm going to be your guardian." **

"**I know, but I meant like this. You shouldn't suffer because of me. You shouldn't always have to look after me. And yet you always do. You got me out of here. You took care of everything when we were on our own. Even since coming back… you've always been the one who does all the work. Every time I break down-like last night- you're always there. Me, I'm w**_**eak**_**. I'm not like you."**

**I shook my head. "That doesn't matter. It's what I do. I don't mind." **

"**Yeah, but look what happened. I'm the one she really has a grudge against-even though I still don't know why. Whatever. It's going to stop. I'm going to protect **_**you**_** from now on."**

"Friendship, like no other." Eddie mumbled I saw a slight smile on his face.

**There was a determination in her expression, a wonderful confidence radiating off of her that reminded me of the Lissa I'd known before the accident. At the same time, I could feel something else in her-something darker, a sense of deeply buried anger. I'd seen this side of her before too, and I didn't like it. I didn't want her tapping into it. I just wanted her to be safe. **

"**Lissa, you can't protect me."**

"**I can," she said fiercely. "There's one thing Mia wants more than to destroy you and me. She wants to be accepted. She wants to hand out with the royals and feel like she's one of them. I can take that away from her." She smiled. "I can turn them against her."**

"**How?"**

"**By **_**telling **_**them." Her eyes flashed. **

"You're evil, cousin. I like it." Adrian smirked at her as she slightly smiled at him back.

**My mind was moving too slowly tonight. It took me a while to catch on. "Liss-no. You can't use compulsion. Not around here." **

"**I might as well get some use out of these stupid powers." **

_**The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of here. **_

"**Liss, if you get caught-" **

**Dimitri stuck his head out. "You've got to get back inside, Rose, before someone finds you."**

**I shot a panicked look at Lissa, but she was already retreating. "I'll take care of everything this time, Rose. **_**Everything**_**."**

"The end of Chapter Twelve." Abe said folding the page down and closing the book. He looked around the room, looking deadly calm and said. "Next reader?" I knew if I was anything like him, the 'deadly calm' was when he was extremely pissed off.


	15. Reading Chapter 13

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 13

_(Dimitri's POV)_

_After Abe _handed to book to Jill who asked to read. She looked around the room quickly, before reading.

**Chapter Thirteen. **

**The aftermath of Jessie and Ralf's lies was about as horrible as I'd expected. The only way I survived was by putting blinders on, by ignoring everyone and everything. It kept me sane-barely-but I hated it. I felt like crying all the time. I lost my appetite and didn't sleep well.**

I remember watching Rose, during this time. I was worried about her well-being and how she was handling all of this. I knew she was taking some of everything she was feeling in training, so I knew she was letting her vent as I rather have her do that then actually going up and punching someone.

**Yet, no matter how bad it got for me, I didn't worry about myself as much as I did Lissa. She stood by her promise to change things. It was slow at first, but gradually, I would see a royal or two come up to her at lunch or in class and say hello. **

I knew from the moment, when I saw Rose crying and she was worried about Lissa though the rumors were about Rose. I knew that she was going to be a wonderful guardian, and that she understood what being a guardian meant.

**She'd turn on a brilliant smile, laughing and talking to them like they were best friends. At first, I didn't understand how she was pulling it off. She'd told me she would use compulsion to win the other royals over and turn them against Mia. But I didn't **_**see**_** it happening. It was possible, of course that she was winning people without compulsion. After all, she was funny, smart, and nice. Anyone would like her. Something told me she wasn't winning friends the old-fashion way, and I finally figured it out. She was using compulsion when I wasn't around. **

The Princess probably knew that Rose did not approve of her using compulsion use, well at least as much as she was. That was given the Princess would have gotten in trouble for using compulsion especially on her classmates. Probably so much, she would've been in the same punishment as Rose.

**At least, that's what I told myself, sitting and spacing out in Stan's class one day. But it wasn't as easy as I'd thought it would be, partly because I felt too keyed up to relax and open myself to her thoughts. I also had trouble because I picked a time when she felt relatively calm. She came through the "loudest" when her emotions were running strong. **

Looking at Rose through the corner of my eyes. I saw her concentrating on the floor. Her hair was gathered over her left shoulder as her head was tilt slightly to the left. She still had on my duster, which was covered in the dirt and dust from walking around with. I had noticed she took it off when she got into the bed, so she wouldn't get her bed covered in the filth. I actually liked her in my duster, though she was so short that it was basically an inch off the floor. Guessing she felt me staring at her, as she turned her head slightly in my direction with his grin that has any man trailing after her. Raising one of the eyebrows, which I knew she didn't like that she couldn't do, then turned back to pay attention to the book.

**Camille thought about it. "Hey, you want to study with us?" **

"**Sure," said Lissa, smiling at her. Camille smiled back. Lissa dropped the compulsion, and a wave of dizziness swept over her. She felt weak. Camille glanced around, momentarily surprised, then shook off the weirdness. **

"**See you," murmured Lissa, watching her walk away. When Camille was gone, Lissa reached up to tie her hair up in a ponytail. Her fingers couldn't quite get all the hair through, and suddenly, another pair of hands caught hold and helped her. She spun and found herself staring into Christian's ice-blue eyes. She jerked away from him. **

"Yeah, cause that didn't seem creepy _at all_." Adrian exclaimed. Glancing up at him, he had a smirk that always seemed on his face. Rose laughed, and gave a look at Christian that I couldn't see but knew what it said. 'Told you, so.' Lissa mumbled to Jill about reading more before they begin arguing.

"**Don't do that!" she exclaimed, shivering at the realization that it had been **_**his**_** fingers touching her. **

"Didn't know I had that effect on you." I think Christian meant to whisper it, but he had said it loud enough for us to hear. The princess blushed as Rose gagged at the pair.

**He gave her his lazy, slightly twisted smile and brushed a few pieces of unruly black hair out of his face. "Are you asking me or **_**ordering **_**me?" **

"**Shut up." She glanced around, both to avoid his eyes and make sure no one saw them together. **

"**What's the matter? Worried about what your slaves'll think if they see you talking to me?"**

"**They're me **_**friends**_**," she retorted. **

"**Oh. Right. Of course they are. I mean, from what I saw, Camille would probably **_**do anything**_** for you, right? Friends till the end." He crossed his arms over his chest, and in spite of her anger, she couldn't help but notice how the silvery gray of his shirt set off his black hair and blue eyes. **

It's amazing how much Christian and Rose are alike. They probably do not even realize it, at least not yet. I like and respect Christian, especially since I've known him since he was younger, I hardly saw him unless he was with Tasha. Tasha and he are very much a like too, in beliefs and a few ways they act but it was rare.

"**At least she isn't like you. She doesn't pretend to be my friend one day and then ignore me for no reason." An uncertain look flickered across his features. Tension and anger had built up between them in the last week, ever since I'd yelled at Christian after the royal reception. **

"Which you shouldn't have." I see Rose look up and give the Princess an apologetic smile.

**Believing what I'd told him, **

"You shouldn't have either."

**Christian had stopped talking to her and had treated her rudely every time she'd tried to start a conversation. Now, hurt and confused, she'd given up attempts at being nice. The situation just kept getting worse and worse. **

**Looking out through Lissa's eyes, I could see that he still cared about her and still wanted her. His pride had been hurt, however, and he wasn't about to show weakness. **

"**Yeah?" he said in a low, cruel voice. "I thought that was the way all royals were supposed to act. You certainly seem to be doing a good job with it. Or maybe you're just using compulsion on me to make me think you're a two-faced bitch. Maybe you really aren't. But I doubt it." **

**Lissa flushed at the word **_**compulsion**_**- and cast another worried look around-but decided not to give him the satisfaction of arguing anymore. She simply gave him one last glare before storming off to join a group of royals huddled over an assignment. Returning to myself, I stared blankly around the classroom, processing what I'd seen. Some tiny, tiny part of me was starting to feel sorry for Christian. **

I see Christian send Rose a glare. I know Christian just like Tasha, doesn't like people feeling sorry about them and hearing that Rose slightly didn't help anything.

**He and I started with running as usual, and he ran with me, quiet and almost gentle in his instructions, probably worried about causing some sort of breakdown. **

I was worried more than I probably should have at that time.

**He knew about the rumors somehow, but he never mentioned them. When we finished, he led me through an offensive exercise where I could use any makeshift weapons I could find to attack him. To my surprise, I managed to land a few blows on him, although they seemed to do me more damage than him. **

I was not surprised at all; she was catching up quickly. Though it was true that the hits were making her unstable on her feet and I had more of a balance the point was that she was actually punching me a few times.

**Maybe all of them. Dimitri finally called a break. We carried the equipment we'd used on the field and returned everything to the supply room. While putting it away, he glanced at me and did a double take. **

"**Your hands." He swore in Russian. I could recognize it by now, but he refused to teach me what any of it meant. "Where are your gloves?" **

I couldn't believe it had taken me that long to notice that she didn't wear any.

**The cold had turned the skin raw and chapped, and some parts were actually bleeding a little. My blisters swelled. "Don't have any. Never needed them in Portland." He swore again and beckoned me to a chair while he retrieved a first-aid kit. Wiping away the blood with a wet cloth, he told me gruffly, "We'll get you some."**

**I looked down at my destroyed hands as he worked. **

I looked down at her hands, they seemed so soft and I wanted to reach for her hand. But mentally scolding myself, I shouldn't want to hold her hand. Though, I was not doubting my love for her, it was still a secret, one that I did not want people to know about yet, so I looked away quickly.

"**-male guardians. They're all leathery and stuff. Fighting and training and always being outdoors-they aren't pretty anymore." I paused. "This… this life. It destroys them. Their looks, I mean." He hesitated for a moment and looked up from my hands. Those warm brown eyes surveyed me, and something tightened in my chest. Damn it. I had to stop feelings this way around him. **

It was interesting to hear Roz-Rose's thoughts. I knew she didn't like that they were in a book that we had to read in order to even try to get out of here. I knew by the way she kept glaring at the book. I felt a little bad that we were actually listening to something private of hers, but at the same time I had liked it. I knew I shouldn't have though.

**I shook my head. "No. All I know is he must have had wicked cool hair."**

Without moving my head up, I knew that Mazur was smirking at Rose and Guardian Hathaway. When he had showed up and I got a look at both of them together, I saw that they looked similar. Hair, skin color, and I remembered his odd smiles or smirks meaning he was up with something- Rose had those. Something told me they were related, but from what I knew Mazur didn't have a child. But I was proven right when Rose had had enough of the looks her parents were giving each other and she flat out said it.

**His smile grew. "I did."**

"**Wow."**

"Wait! Are you two flirting?" I froze, looking up at Jill who had stopped reading to question it. I noticed Rose had frozen to. Adrian was laughing. "I mean… it sounds like it… You know flirting in a weird way… but…" She glanced between Rose and me and let it die off. I glanced at Guardian Hathaway and Mr. Mazur. Mazur had an eyebrow raised, running his eyes over Rose and I trying to find the answer to that question. Guardian Hathaway had her eyebrows furrowed as if she was thinking.

I cleared my throat. "You can keep reading." Jill followed the direction. I looked down at my hands, suddenly very nervous around Mr. Mazur. I knew him from home and knew what he could do. I do not know what he could even threaten me with if he found out that I was in love with his-probably-only daughter. Getting my mind off the Mazur-Hathaway family I listened in back to the book.

**Thinking about Jesse soon darkened my mood, unfortunately. I looked down. "I know you heard what people are saying, that I-"**

"**I know it's not true," he interrupted. **

**His immediate, certain answer surprised me, and I stupidly found myself questioning it. "Yeah, but how do you-"**

"**Because I know you," he replied firmly. "I know your character. I know you're going to be a great guardian." **

**His confidence made that warm feeling return. "I'm glad someone does. Everyone else thinks I'm totally irresponsible." **

"**With the way you worry more about Lissa than yourself…" he shook his head. "No. You understand your responsibilities better than guardians twice your age. You'll do what you have to do to succeed." **

I could feel five different eyes on me, none of which were Rose, Jill's, or Lissa's.

**Unexpectedly, he released my hands and leaned forward. Slowly, he reached out and held a lock of my hair, twisting it around on finger thoughtfully. I froze, and for a moment, there was nothing going on in the world except him touching my hair. He let my hair go, looking a little surprised-and embarrassed-at what he'd done. **

I was surprised; I did touch her hair more than I was embarrassed by it.

"**Don't cut it," he said gruffly. Somehow, I remembered how to talk again. "But no one'll see my tattoos if I don't."**

**He moved toward the doorway, a small smile playing over his lips. "Wear it up." **

Jill closed the book with a thud, making everyone look up at her. I could a slight look of determination on her face.

"You two are answering questions before we continue on with this book." She pointed at Rose and I. I looked over at Rose lifting one of my eyebrows at her. Rose looked puzzled, before shrugging at me and turning back to Jill.

"Okay. Ask."

"One. You have a crush on Guardian Belikov, don't you?" Slowly- and slightly unsure- she nods.

"Guardian Belikov, did you know about this crush?" I made sure my face was neutral before nodding.

"Do you realize more than once, you two were awkwardly flirting?" I furrowed my eyebrows, confused. I never once thought I was flirting with Rose, especially during that time.

"Apparently, not." Adrian said with an eyebrow raised at the two of us.

"Jill where are you going with this?" Princess asked. I could see Christian studying us, looking for probably the same thing that Mr. Mazur was proof of the relationship. I looked over at Mazur who had a smirk on his face, and I instantly knew he knew about the relationship.

"It's a little early for the assumption, but I think… they like each other. More than a mentor and student or more than Soon-to-be Guardian and Guardian should." Jill, ever so smart and clever.

Christian started laughing. "Holy Crap. I think you're right." He looked at us, and started laughing again. "Wait, is Rose the reason you told my aunt 'no'?"

I was going to answer, but Adrian piped up.

"How about we read the books, and find everything out. Because they aren't going to say anything." At the same moment, the slot in the wall, which usually carried out breakfast, lunches, and dinners opened, giving us lunch. They let it drop and Adrian reached for the book to start reading.


	16. Reading Chapter 14

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 14

_(Rose POV)_

_Adrian took_ the book from Jill, turning to the next chapter and read while everyone was eating. He had saved us, from answering question after question about what relationship Dimitri and I were in and I was semi-thankful. But then they would have to pay attention to the book more in order to find out.

**Chapter Fourteen. **

**I continued spying on Lissa over the next couple of days, feeling mildly guilty each time.**

"As you should." Lissa mumbled to me. "That is an invasion of privacy."

"That 'invasion of privacy' helped us."

**She'd always hated it when I did by accident, and now I did it on purpose. Steadily, I watched as she reintegrated herself into the royal powers players one by one. She couldn't do group compulsion, but catching one person alone was just as effective, if slower. And really, a lot didn't need to be compelled as they seemed; they remembered Lissa and liked her for who she was. **

That was sort of a good thing.

**They flocked to her, and now, a month and a half after our return to the Academy, it was like she'd never left at all. **

That made it not such a good thing, solely because whoever at the time it could've been leaving dead animals for her could've been in that group.

**And during this rise to fame, she advocated for me and rallied against Mia and Jesse. One morning, I tuned into her while she was getting ready to breakfast. She'd spent the last twenty minutes blow drying and straightening her hair, something she hadn't done in a while. Natalie, sitting on the bed in their room, watched the process with curiosity. When Lissa moved on to makeup, Natalie finally spoke. **

"**Hey, we're going to watch a movie in Erin's room after school. You going to come?" I'd always made jokes about Natalie being boring, but her friend Erin had the personality of dry wall. **

"**Can't. I'm going to help Camille bleach Carly's hair." **

"**You sure spend a lot of time with them now." **

"**Yeah, I guess." Lissa dabbed mascara across her lashes, instantly making her eyes look bigger. **

"**I thought you didn't like them anymore."**

She never really liked them in the first place, I thought to myself.

"**I changed my mind." **

No you didn't.

"**They sure seem to like you a lot now. I mean, not that anyone wouldn't like you, but once you came back and didn't talk to them, they seemed okay ignoring you too. I heard them talking about you a lot. I guess that's not surprising, because they're Mia friends too, but isn't it weird how much they like you now? Like, I hear them always waiting to see what you want to do before they make plans and stuff. And a bunch of them are defending Rose now, which is **_**really **_**crazy. Not that I believe any of that stuff about her, but I never would have thought it was possible-"**

**Underneath Natalie's rambling was the seed of suspicion, and Lissa picked up on it. Natalie probably never would have dreamed of compulsion, but Lissa couldn't risk innocent questions turning into something more. "You know what?" she interrupted. "Maybe I will swing by Erin's after all. I bet Carly's hair won't take that long." **

**The offer derailed Natalie's train of thought. "Really? Oh wow, that would be great. She was telling me how sad she was that you're not around as much anymore, and I told her…"**

**On it went. **

"She didn't know how to keep her mouth shut doesn't she?" Jill questioned.

"Nope." I popped the 'p' out.

**Lissa continued her compulsion and return to popularity. I watched it all quietly, always worrying, even though her efforts were staring to reduce the stares and gossip about me. **

"**This is going to backfire," I whispered to her in church one day. "Someone's going to start wondering and asking questions." **

"**Stop being so melodramatic-"**

I glanced at the old man, now I know where that comes from. I've known that from the first time he started talking, added unnecessarily beings to words.

"**Of course I do, but if Christian spotted **_**it **_**right away, then someone else will-" **

**My words were interrupted when two guys farther down the pew suddenly exploded into snickers. Glancing up, I saw them looking right at me, not even bothering to hide their smirks. Looking away, I tried to ignore them, suddenly hoping the priest would start up soon. But Lissa returned their looks, and a sudden fierceness flashed across her face. She didn't say a word, but their smiles grew smaller under her heavy gaze. **

"**Tell her you're sorry," she told them. "And make sure she believes it." **

**A moment later, they practically fell all over themselves apologizing to me and begging for forgiveness. I couldn't believe it. She'd used compulsion in public-in church, of all places. **_**And **_**on two people at the same time. **

Adrian quickly glanced up at Lissa, before reading more.

"That's cool to an extent cousin, but maybe we should do an experiment when we get back. See how many people you could actually do at the same time."

"No." My mother said.

"Look, Guardian Hathaway. I know you think compusion is wrong. But if we know how strong she is at it, then it'll help us know exactly what we need to look out for."

"He has a point mom." I told her, but turned to him. "But I still don't like it." He simply shrugs.

**They finally exhausted their supply of apologies, but Lissa wasn't finished. **

"**That's the **_**best **_**you can do?" she snapped. Their eyes widened in alarm, both terrified that they'd angered her. **

"**Liss," I said quickly, touching her arm. "It's okay. I, uh, accept their apologies." Her face still radiated disapproval, but she finally nodded. The guys slumped in relief. Yikes. **

"Who says 'Yikes' anymore?" Christian looked at me, but Adrian answered before he read on.

"Apparently Rose does."

**I'd never felt so relieved to have a service start. Through the bond, I felt a sort of dark satisfaction coming from Lissa. It was uncharacteristic for her troubling behavior, I studied other people as I so often did. Nearby, Christian openly watched Lissa, a troubled look on his face. When he saw me, he scowled and turned away. Dimitri sat in the back as usual, for once not scanning every corner for danger. His attention was turned inward, his expression almost pained. I still didn't know why he came to church. He always seemed to be wrestling with something. **

**In front, the priest was talking about St. Vladimir again. "His spirit was strong, and he was truly gifted by God. When he touched them, the crippled walked, and the blind could see. Where he walked, flowers bloomed." Man, the Moroi needed to get more saints-**

**Healing cripples and blind people? I'd forgotten about St. Vladimir. Mason had mentioned Vladimir bringing people back from the dead, and it had reminded me of Lissa at the time. Then other things had distracted me. I hadn't thought about the saint or his "Shadowkissed" guardian-and their bond- in a while. How could I have overlooked this? Ms. Karp, I realized, wasn't the only other Moroi who could heal like Lissa. Vladimir could too. **

"Who knew Rose thought this much?" Christian mumbled, staring at the book in Adrian's hand.

"**And all the while, the masses gathered to him, loving him, eager to follow his teachings and hear him preach the word of God.." **

**Turning, I stared at Lissa. She gave me a puzzled look. "What?" **

**I didn't get a chance to elaborate- I don't even know if I could have formed the words-because I was whisked back to my prison almost as soon as I stood up at the end of service. Back in my room, I went online to research St. Vladimir but turned up nothing useful. Damn it. Mason had skimmed the books in the library and said there was little there. What did that leave me with? I had no way of learning more about that dusty old saint. Or did I? What had Christian said the first day with Lissa?**

_**Over there, we have an old box full of the writings of the blessed and crazy St. Vladimir. **_

I see Christian turned to me, raising an eyebrow like to question how I remembered that. But I ignored him and listened to Adrian reading, as I knew this was more of an information chapter than anything and it was boring.

**The storage room above the chapel. It had the writings. Christian had pointed them out. I needed to look at them, but how? I couldn't ask the priest. How would he react if he found out students were going up there? It'd put an end to Christian's lair. **

"I like the ring of that. Christian's Lair." A couple of us rolled our eyes at him and I motioned Adrian to keep reading.

**But maybe…maybe Christian himself could help. It was Sunday, though, and I wouldn't see him until tomorrow afternoon. Even then, I didn't know if I'd get a chance to talk to him alone. While heading out to practice later, I stopped in the dorm's kitchen to grab a granola bar. As I did, I passed a couple of novice guys, Miles and Anthony. Miles whistled when he saw me. **

"**How's it been going Rose? You getting lonely? Want some company?" Anthony laughed. "I can't bite you, but I can give you something else you want." **

**I had to pass through the doorway they stood in to get outside. Glaring, I pushed past, but Miles caught me around the waist, his hand sliding down to my butt. **

I looked out the corner of my eyes to see Dimitri, mom, and Abe glaring at the book and practically every other male in the room, even Jill and Lissa seemed to glare at it.

"**Get your hands off my ass before I break your face," I told him, jerking away. In doing so, I only bumped into Anthony. **

"**Come on," Anthony said. "I thought you didn't have problem taking on two guys at the same time." **

**A new voice spoke up. "If you guys don't walk away right now, **_**I'll**_** take both of you on." Mason. My hero. **

I gave a small smile in that memory of him trying to help me out. Everyone seemed to relax some.

"**You're so full of it, Ashford," said Miles. He was the bigger of the two and left me to go square off with Mason. Anthony backed off from me, more interested in whether or not there'd be a fight. There was so much testosterone in the air, I felt like I needed a gas mask. **

Jill and Lissa giggled at the comment, while Adrian, Christian, and Eddie full blown laughed. After they cooled down, Adrian began.

"**Are you doing her too? Miles asked Mason. "You don't want to share?" **

"**Say one more word about her, and I'll rip your head off." **

A soft 'aw' came from Lissa and Jill at my protector at the moment. I rolled my eyes, they are so much alike.

"**Why? She's just a cheap blood-"**

Abe and Dimitri growled.

**Mason punched him. It didn't rip Miles' head off or even cause anything to break or bleed, but it looked like it hurt. His eyes widened, and he lunged toward Mason. The sound of doors opening in the hall caused everyone to freeze. Novices got in a lot of trouble for fighting. **

"**Probably some guardians coming." Mason grinned. "You want them to know you were beating up on a girl?"**

I see Adrian smirk and look up. "Bet that pissed you off." I didn't answer, so he read on finding out if it did or not.

**When they were gone, I turned to Mason. "'Beat up on a girl'?"**

"**You're welcome," he said drily. **

"**I didn't need your help." **

"**Sure. You were doing just fine on your own."**

"**They caught me off guard, that's all. I could have dealt with them eventually." **

"**Look, don't take being pissed off at them out on me."**

"See." Adrian looked up smiling. I glared at him, breathily he laughed.

"**I just don't being treated like…a girl."**

"You are a girl." Most of the room said. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"**You **_**are**_** a girl. And I was just trying to help." I looked at him and saw the earnestness on his face. He meant well. No point in being a bitch to him when I had so many other people to hate lately. **

"**Well…thanks. Sorry I snapped at you." **

**We talked a little bit, and I managed to get him to spill some more school gossip. He had noticed Lissa's rise in status but didn't seem to find it strange. As I talked to him, I noticed the adoring look he always got around me spread across his face. It made me sad to have him feel that way about me. Guilty, even. **

**How hard would it be, I wondered, to go out with him? He was nice, funny, and reasonably good-looking. We got along. Why couldn't I just return his feelings? The answer came to me before I'd even finished asking myself the question. I couldn't be Mason's girlfriend because I imagined-**

NO! I silently yelled in my head, holding my breath.

**-he had a Russian accent. **

I face palmed and groaned hiding my face in my hands and lap. As it got silent and then laugher filled the room.

"I am really, liking these books." Christian said in-between laughing and taking breaths. I glanced up, Abe and Dimitri along with all my friends were laughing and mom was giving a look. After they quieted and stopped laughing every few seconds when people calmed Adrian began again.

**Mason continued watching me admiringly, oblivious to what was going on in my head. And seeming that adoration, I suddenly realized how I could use it to my advantage. Feeling a little guilty, I shifted my conversation to a more flirty style and watched Mason's glow increase. **

I started to bounce my leg, not really wanting to hear this, but knowing I really had no choice. Taking a few breathes, I listened to the last part of it.

"**I need you to get a message to Christian Ozera." **

**His eagerness faltered. "What the-? You aren't serious."**

"**Yes. Completely."**

"**Rose…I can't talk to him. You know that."**

"**I thought you said you'd help. I thought you said helping 'damsels' is the honorable thing to do."**

"**I don't really see how honor's involved here." I gave him the most smoldering look I could manage. He caved. "What do you want me to tell him?" **

"**Tell him I needed St. Vladimir's books. The ones in storage. He needs to sneak them to me soon. Tell him it's for Lissa. And tell him… tell him I lied the night of the reception." I hesitated. "Tell him I'm sorry." **

"**That doesn't make any sense."**

"**It doesn't have to. Just do it. Please?" I turned on the beauty queen smile again. With hasty assurances that he'd see what he could do, he left for lunch, and I went off to practice. **

"End of Chapter Fourteen. Next, Anyone?" Adrian saved the page and waved the book slightly in the air.


	17. Reading Chapter 15

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 15

_Eddie took _the book from Adrian and quickly began to read.

**Chapter Fifteen. **

**Mason delivered. **

"Duh."

**He found me the next day before school. He was carrying a box of books. **

"**I got them," he said. "Hurry and take them before you get in trouble for talking to me."**

**He handed them over, and I grunted. They were heavy. "Christian gave you these?"**

"**Yeah. Managed to talk to him without anyone noticing. He's got kind of an attitude, did you ever notice that?" **

I smiled to myself while Adrian and Eddie chuckle a little.

"**Yeah, I noticed." I rewarded Mason with a smile that he ate up. "Thanks. This means a lot." **

**I hauled the loot up to my room, full aware of how weird it was that someone who hated to study as much as I did was about to get buried in dusty crap from the fourteenth century. When I opened the first book, though, I saw that these must be reprints of reprints of reprints, probably because anything that old would have long since fallen apart. **

**Sifting through the books, I discovered they fell into three categories: books written by people after St. Vladimir had died, books written by other people when he was still alive, and one dairy of sorts written by him. What had Mason said about primary and secondary sources? Those last two groups were the ones I wanted. **

Silently I nod to myself as to agree with the pass me.

**Whoever had reprinted these had reworded the books enough so that I didn't have to read Ye Olde English or anything. Or rather, Russian, I supposed. St. Vladimir had lived in the old Country. **

_**Today I healed the mother of Sava who has long since suffered from sharp pains within her stomach. Her malady is now gone, but God has not allowed me to do such a thing lightly. I am weak and dizzy, and the madness is trying to leak into my head. I thank God every day for shadow-kissed Anna, for without her, I would surely not be able to endure. **_

I see a few people furrow their eyebrows in thought.

**Anna again. And "shadow-kissed." He talked about her a lot, among other things. Most of the time he wrote long sermons, just like what I'd hear in church. Super boring. But other times, the books read just like a diary, recapping what he did each day. And if it really wasn't just a load of crap, he healed all the time. Sick people. Injured people. Even plants. He brought dead crops back to life when people were starving. Sometimes he would make flowers blood just for the hell of it. **

**Reading on, I found out that it was a good thing old Vlad had Anna around, because he was pretty messed up. **

"That's not nice to say, Rose." Lissa said, giving me a slight warning look.

"The reason it coming up."

**The more he used his powers, the more they started to get to him. He'd get irrationally angry and sad. He blamed it on demons and stupid stuff like that, but it was obvious he suffered from depression. Once, he admitted in his diary, he tried to kill himself. Anna stopped him. **

As if at one, everyone turned to look at Lissa and Adrian. Who both just stared at the book. Eddie cleared his throat and read on, trying to stop all the awkwardness.

**Later, browsing through the book written by the guy who knew Vladimir, I read:**

_**And many think it miraculous too, the power the blessed Vladimir shows over others. Moroi and Dhampirs flock to him and listen to his words, happy just to be near him. Some say it is madness that touches him and not spirit, but more adore him and would do anything he asked. Such is the way God marks his favorites, and if such moments are followed by hallucinations and despair, it is a small sacrifice for the amount of good and leadership he can show among the people. **_

**It sounded a lot like what the priest had said, but I sensed more than just a "winning personality." People adored him, would do anything he asked. Yes, Vladimir had used compulsion on his followers, I was certain. A lot of Moroi had in those days before it was banned, but they didn't use it on Moroi or Dhampirs. They couldn't. Only Lissa could. I shut the book and leaned back against my bed. Vladimir healed plants and animals. He could use compulsion on a massive scale. And by all accounts, using those sorts of powers had made him crazy and depressed. Added into it all, making it that much weirder was that everyone kept describing his guardian as "shadow-kissed." That expression had bugged me ever since I first heard it…**

"From where?" Lissa and Jill asked at the same time. I pointedly looked at Eddie who kept reading.

"**You're shadow-kissed! You have to take care of her!" Ms. Karp had shouted those words at me, her hands clenching my shirt and jerking me toward her. It had happened on a night two years ago when I'd been inside the main part of the upper school to return a book It was nearly past curfew, and the halls were empty. I'd heard a loud commotion, and then Ms. Karp had come tearing around the corner, looking frantic and wild-eyed. **

**She shoved me into a wall, still gripping me. "Do you understand?" **

**I knew enough self-defense that I could have probably pushed her away, but my shock kept me frozen. **

I saw Dimitri, mom, and Abe shake their heads slightly.

"**No." **

"**They're coming for me. They'll come for her." **

"**Who?" **

"**Lissa. You have to protect her. The more she uses it, the worse it'll get. Stop her, Rose. Stop her before they notice, before they notice and take her away too. Get her out of her."**

"**I…what do you mean? Get her out of…you mean the Academy?"**

"**Yes! You have to leave. You're bound. It's up to you. Take her away from this place."**

**Her words were crazy. No one left the Academy. Yes as she held me there and stared into my eyes, I began to feel strange. A fuzzy feeling clouded my mind. What she said suddenly sounded very reasonable, like the most reasonable thing in the world. Yes. I needed to take Lissa away, take her-**

"Compulsion." I hear Lissa whisper to herself and look up at me with sorrow and what looked like pity. But I chose not to look at her and listen to Eddie.

**Feet pounded in the hallway, and a group of guardians rounded the corner. I didn't recognize them; they weren't from the school. They pried her off of me, restraining her wild thrashing. Someone asked me if I was okay, but I could only keep staring at Ms. Karp. **

"**Don't let her use the power!" she screamed. "Save her. Save her from herself!" **

**The guardians had later explained to me that she wasn't well and had been taken to a place where she could recover. She would be safe and cared for, they assured me. She would recover. Only she hadn't. **

Eddie paused for a moment.

**Back in the present, I stared at the books and tried to put it all together. Lissa. Ms. Karp. St. Vladimir. What was I supposed to do? Someone rapped at my door, and I jerked out of my memories. No one had visited me, not even staff, since my suspension. When I opened the door, I saw Mason in the hall. **

"**Twice in one day?" I asked. "And how'd you even get up here?" **

**He flashed his easy smile. "Someone put a lit match in one of the bathroom's garbage cans. Damn shame. The staff's kind of busy. Come on, I'm springing you." **

**I shook my head. Setting fires was apparently a new sign of affection. Christian had done it and now Mason. "Sorry, no saving me tonight. If I get caught-"**

"**Lissa's orders." I shut up and let him smuggle me out of the building. He took me over to the Moroi dorm and miraculously got me in and up to her room unseen. I wondered if there was a distracting bathroom fire in this building too. **

Dimitri slightly nods his head, enough for me to notice but no one else seemed too.

**Inside her room, I found a party in full swing. Lissa, Camille, Carly, Aaron, and a few other royals sat around laughing, listening to loud music, and passing around bottles of whiskey. No Mia, No Jesse. Natalie, I noticed a few moments later, sat apart from the group, clearly unsure how to act around all of them. Her awkwardness was totally obvious. Lissa stumbled to her feet, the fuzzy feelings in our bond indicating she'd been drinking for a while. "Rose!" She turned to Mason with a dazzling smile. "You delivered."**

**He swept her an over-the-top bow. "I'm at your command." **

**I hoped he'd done it for the thrill of it and not because of any compulsion. **

"Nope." Lissa added more 'p' sound. "He wanted to."

**Lissa slung an arm around my waist and pulled me down with others. "Join the festivities." **

"**What are we celebrating?"**

"**I don't know. Your escape tonight?"**

"That was a face palm moment, right there." I commented shaking my head slightly.

**A few of the others held up plastic cups, cheering and toasting me. Xander Badica poured two more cups, handing them to Mason and me. I took mine with a smile, all the while feeling uneasy about the night's turn of events. Not so long ago, I would have welcomed a party like this and would have downed my drink in thirty seconds. **

Eddie and Lissa nods their heads in agreement with my drinking timing.

**Too much bothered me this time, though. Like the fact that the royals were treating Lissa like a goddess. Like how none of them seemed to remember that I had been accused of being a blood whore. Like how Lissa was completely unhappy despite her smiles and laughter. **

"**Where'd you get the whiskey?" I asked. **

"**Mr. Nagy," Aaron said. **

"He should've been fired." Mom said. "No Alcohol on school property."

"We didn't know. Guardians usually check for that sort of thing if teachers leave campus." Dimitri commented.

**He sat very close to Lissa. Everyone knew Mr. Nagy drank all the time after school and kept a stash on campus. He continually used new hiding places-and students continually found them. Lissa leaned against Aaron's shoulder. "Aaron helped me break into his room and take them. He had them hidden in the bottom of the paint closet." **

**The others laughed, and Aaron gazed at her with complete and utter worship. Amusingly, I realized she hadn't had to use any compulsion on him. He was just that crazy for her. He always had been. **

Christian brought Lissa to him, possessively.

"**Why aren't you drinking?" Mason asked me a little while later, speaking quietly into my ear. I glanced down at my cup, half surprised to see it full. "I don't know. I guess I don't think guardians should drink around their charges." **

Dimitri nods his approval.

"**She's not your charge yet! You aren't on duty. You won't be for a long time. Since when did you get so responsible?" I didn't really think I was all that responsible. But I **_**was**_** thinking about what Dimitri had said about balancing fun and obligation. It just seemed wrong to let myself go wild when Lissa was in such a vulnerable state lately. **

"Because it would've been." Mom commented looking at the book and not at me.

**Wiggling out of my tight spot between her and Mason, I walked over and sat beside Natalie. **

"**Hey Nat, you're quiet tonight." **

**She held a cup as full as mine. "So are you." **

**I laughed softly. "I guess so." **

**She tilted her head, watching Mason and the royals like they were some sort of science experiment. They'd consumed a lot more whiskey since I'd arrived, and the silliness had shot up considerably. "Weird, huh? You used to be the center of attention. Now she is." **

**I blinked in surprise. I hadn't considered it like that. "I guess so." **

"**Hey, Rose," said Xander, nearly spilling his drink as he walked over to me. "What was it like?" **

"**What was what like?" **

"**Letting someone feed off you?" The others fell quiet, a sort of anticipation settling over them. **

Somewhat like it was now.

"**She didn't do that," said Lissa in a warning voice. "I told you."**

"**Yeah, yeah, I know nothing happened with Jesse and Ralf. But you guys did it, right? While you were gone?" **

"**Let it go," said Lissa. Compulsion worked best with direct eye contact, and his attention was focused on me, not her. **

"**I mean, it's cool and everything. You guys did what you had to do, right? It's not like you're a feeder. I just want to know what it was like. Danielle Szelsky let me bite her once. She said it didn't feel like anything." **

"Wow your _friends_ are really fucked up." Adrian looked at Lissa.

"Not as fucked up as you." I looked smug at Adrian while he narrowed his eyes at me. Fixing to open his mouth but Eddie read on probably getting tired of listening to Adrian's voice.

**There was a collective "ew" from among the girls. Sex and blood with Dhampirs was dirty; between Moroi, it was cannibalistic. **

"**You are such a lair," said Camille. **

"**No, I'm serious. It was just a small bite. She didn't get high like the feeders. Did **_**you**_**?" He put his free arm around my shoulder. "Did you like it?" **

**Lissa's face went still and pale. Alcohol muted the full force of her feelings, but I could read enough to know how she felt. Dark, scared thoughts trickled into me-underscored with anger. She usually had a good grip on her temper-unlike me-but I'd seen it flare up before. Once it had happened at a party very similar to this one, just a few weeks after Ms. Karp had been taken away. **

Lissa sucked in a breath, knowing exactly which party I was talking about.

**Greg Dashkov-a distant cousin of Natalie's- had held the party in his room. His parents apparently knew someone who knew someone, because he had one of the biggest rooms in the dorm. He'd been friends with Lissa's brother before the accident and had been more than happy to take Andre's little sister into his social fold. Greg had also been happy to take me in, and the two of us had been all over each other that night. For a sophomore like me, being with a royal Moroi senior was a huge rush. **

**I drank a lot that night but still managed to keep an eye on Lissa. She always wore an edge of anxiety around this many people, but no one really noticed, because she could interact with them so well. My heavy buzz kept a lot of her feelings from me, but as long as she looked okay, I didn't worry. **

Dimitri turned to me, raising his eyebrow slightly but I didn't return a look or movement but listened.

**Mid-kiss, Greg suddenly broke away and looked at something over my shoulder. We both sat in the same chair, with me on his lap, and I craned my neck to see. "What is it?" **

**He shook his head with a sort of amused exasperation. "Wade brought a feeder." **

**I followed his gaze to where Wade Voda stood with his arm around a frail girl about my age. She was human and pretty, with wavy blond hair and porcelain skin pale from so much blood loss. A few others guys had homed on her and stood with Wade, laughing and touching her face and hair. **

"**She's already fed too much today," I said, observing her coloring and complete look of confusion. Greg slid his hand behind my neck and turned me back to him. **

"**They won't hurt her." **

**We kissed a while longer and then I felt a tap on my shoulder. "Rose." **

**I looked up into Lissa's face. Her anxious expression startled me because I couldn't feel the emotions behind it. Too much beer for me. I climbed off Greg's lap. **

"**Where are you going?" he asked. **

"**Be right back." I pulled Lissa aside, suddenly wishing I was sober. "What's wrong?"**

"**Them." She nodded towards the guys with the feeder girl. She still had a group around her, and when she shifted to look at one of them, I saw small red wounds scattered on her neck. They were doing a sort of group feeding, taking turns biting her and making gross suggestions. High and oblivious, she let them .**

"**They can't do that," Lissa told me. **

"**She's a feeder. Nobody's going to stop them." Lissa looked up at me with pleading eyes. Hurt, outrage, and anger filled them. "Will **_**you**_**?" **

**I'd always been the aggressive one, looking after her ever since we were little. Seeing her there now, so upset and looking at me to fix things, was more than I could stand. Giving her a shaky nod, I stumbled over to the group. "You so desperate to get some that you've got to drug girls now, Wade?" I asked. **

**He glanced up from where he'd been running his lips over the human girl's neck. "Why? Are you done with Greg and looking for more?"**

**I put my hands on my hips and hoped I looked fierce. **

"You did." Lissa slightly smiled. I gave her a nod of recognition that I've heard her.

**The truth was, I was actually starting to feel a little nauseous from all I'd drunk. "Aren't enough drugs in the world that get me near you," I told him. A few of his friends laughed. "But maybe you can go make out with that lamp over there. It seems to be out of it enough to make even you happy. You don't need **_**her**_** anymore." A few other people laughed. **

"**This isn't any of your business," he hissed. "She's just lunch." **

"Okay. That was a dick as move." Adrian commented, glaring at the book.

**Referring to feeders as meals was about the only thing worse than calling Dhampirs blood whores. **

"**This isn't a feeding room. Nobody wants to see this."**

"**Yeah," agreed a senior girl. "It's gross." A few of her friends agreed. Wade glared at all of us, me the hardest. "Fine. None of you have to see it. Come on." He grabbed the feeder girl's arm and jerked her away. Clumsily, she stumbled along with him out of the room, making soft whimpering noises. **

"**Best I could do," I told Lissa. **

**She stared at me, shocked. "He's just going to take her to his room. He'll do even worse things to her." **

"**Liss, I don't like it either, but it's not like I can go chase him down or anything." I rubbed my forehead. "I could go punch him or something, but I feel like I'm going to throw up as it is."**

"I like how it sounds like you don't want to." Adrian mumbled. "You probably did, though."

I shook my head at Adrian and look at Eddie to continue.

**Her face grew dark, and she bit her lip. "He can't do that." **

"**I'm sorry."**

**I return to the chair with Greg, feeling a little bad about what had happened. I didn't want to see the feeder get taken advantage of anyone than Lissa did-it reminded me too much what a lot of Moroi guys thought they could do to Dhampirs girls. But I also couldn't win this battle, not tonight. Greg had shifted me around to get better angle on my neck when I noticed Lissa was gone a few minutes last. Practically falling, I clambered off his lap and looked around. "Where's Lissa?"**

**He reached for me. "Probably the bathroom." **

**I couldn't feel a thing through the bond. The alcohol had numbed it. Stepping out into the hallway, I breathed a sigh of relief at escaping the loud music and voices. It was quiet out here-except for a crashing sound a couple rooms down. The door was ajar, and I pushed my way inside. The feeder girl cowered in a corner, terrified. Lissa stood with arms crossed, her face angry and terrible. She was staring at Wade intently, and he stared back, enchanted. He also held a baseball bat, and it looked like he'd used it already, because the room was trashed: bookshelves, the stereo, the mirror…**

"**Break the window too," Lissa told him smoothly. "Come on. It doesn't matter." **

"My girlfriend is bad ass." Christian chuckled. No one really paid attention to the comment, more like they wanted to know what happened.

**Hypnotized, he walked over to the large, tinted window. I stared, my mouth nearly hitting the floor, as he pulled back and slammed the bat into the glass. It shattered, sending shards everywhere and letting in the early morning light it normally kept blocked out. He winced as it shone in his eyes, but he didn't move away. **

"**Lissa," I exclaimed. "Stop it. Make him stop." **

"**He should have stopped earlier." **

**I barely recognized the look on her face. I'd never seen her so upset, and I'd certainly never seen her do anything like this. I knew what it was, of course. I knew right away. Compulsion. For all I knew, she was seconds away from having him turn the bat on himself. **

"**Please, Lissa. Don't do it anymore. Please." Through the fuzzy, alcoholic buzz, I felt a trickle of her emotions. They were strong enough to practically knock me over. Black. Angry. Mericiless. Startling feelings to be coming from sweet and steady Lissa. I'd known her since kindergarten, but in that moment, I barely knew her. **

**And I was afraid. **

Silence. Eddie had paused letting that seep in that I was afraid of Lissa. Lissa looked broken that I was afraid of her, I knew she didn't want that.

"**Please, Lissa," I repeated. "He's not worth it. Let him go." She didn't look at me. Her stormy eyes were focused entirely on Wade. Slowly, carefully, he lifted up the bat, tilting it so that it lined up with his own skull. **

"**Liss," I begged. Oh God. I was going to have to tackle her or something to make her stop. "Don't do it."**

"**He should have stopped," Lissa said evenly. The bat quit moving. It was now at exactly the right distance to gain momentum and strike. "He shouldn't have done that to her. People can't treat other people like that- even feeders." **

"**But you're scaring her," I said softly. "Look at her." **

**Nothing happened at first, then Lissa let her gaze flick toward the feeder. The human girl still sat huddled in a corner, arms wrapped around herself protectively. Her blue eyes were enormous, and light reflected off her wet, tear-streaked face. She gave a choked, terrified sob. Lissa's face stayed impassive. Inside her, I could feel the battle she was waging for control. Some part of her didn't want to hurt Wade, despite the blinding anger that otherwise filled her. Her face crumpled, and she squeezed her eyes shut. Her right hand reached out to her wrist and clenched it, nails digging deep into the flesh. She flinched at the pain, but through the bond, I felt the shock of the pain distract her from Wade. **

**She let go of the compulsion, and he dropped the bat, suddenly looking confused. I let go of the breath I'd been holding. In the hallway, footsteps sounded. I'd left the door open, and the crash had attracted attention. A couple of dorm staff members burst into the room, freezing when they saw the destruction in front of them. **

"**What happened?"**

**The rest of us looked at each other. Wade looked completely lost. He stared at the room, at the bat, and then at Lissa and me. "I don't know…I can't…" He turned his full attention to me and suddenly grew angry. "What the-it was you! You wouldn't let the feeder thing go."**

**The dorm workers looked at me questioningly, and in a few seconds, I made up my mind. **

"To protect me." Lissa whispered, I can hear the sadness in her voice and I didn't want her that way, but I had no idea what to say. I had served the punishment and saved her from them knowing about her powers at least to that extent of it and it was what I was being raised to do.

_**Get her out of here. **_**I could see Ms. Karp's face in my mind, pleading frantically. I gave Wade a haughty look, knowing full well no one would question a confession I made or even suspect Lissa. **

"**Yeah, well, if you'd let her go," I told him, "I wouldn't have had to do this." **

_**Save her. Save her from herself. **_

"So you got in trouble for it?" Mom asked. I just shrugged.

"If I didn't they would've known what she could do."

**After that night, I never drank again. I refused to let my guard down around Lissa. And two days later, while I was supposed to be suspended for "destruction of property," I took Lissa and broke out of the Academy. **

**Back in Lissa's room, with Xander's arm around me and her angry and upset eyes on us, I didn't know if she'd do anything drastic again. But the situation reminded me too much of that one from two years ago, and I knew I had to defuse it. **

"**Just a little blood," Xander was saying. "I won't take much. I just want to see what Dhampir tastes like. Nobody here cares." **

"**Xander," growled Lissa. "Leave her alone."**

**I slipped out from under his arm and smiled, looking for a funny retort rather than one that might start a fight. "Come on," I teased. "I had to hit the last guy who asked me that, and you're a hell of a lot prettier than Jesse. It'd be a waste." **

"**Pretty?" he asked. "I'm stunningly sexy but not **_**pretty**_**."**

**Carly laughed. "No, you're pretty. Todd told me you buy some kind of French her gel." **

**Xander, distracted as so many drunk people easily are, turned around to defend his honor, forgetting me. The tension disappeared, and he took the teasing about his hair with a good attitude. Across the room, Lissa met my eyes with relief. She smiled and gave me a small nod of thanks before she returned her attention to Aaron.**

"End." Eddie mumbled. No one said anything for a while. But then as everyone wrapped their heads around what just happened they stared at Lissa. Who seemed to try to back away and hide behind Christian.

"Remind never to piss you off." Adrian looked so serious, I've only seen that look at couple times maybe not even then. All my friends nod their agreement while the adults gave her a once over as to wonder how she had that in her to do that. Spirit was the answer and they didn't understand what it was like to have it. The emotions were almost intensive…

Mom took the book from Eddie, taking the book, it was her turn to read.


	18. Reading Chapter 16

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 16

_**Chapter Sixteen**_**.**__

She began, glancing up then back to the book.

**The next day, it fully hit me how much things had changed since the Jesse-and-Ralf rumors first started. For some people, I remained a nonstop source of whispers and laughter. From Lissa's converts, I received friendliness and occasional defense. Overall, I realized, our classmates actually gave me very little of their attention anymore. This became especially true when something new distracted everyone. **

Jill opened her mouth to question, but mom quickly read before she could.

**Lissa and Aaron. **

I glanced at Christian and Lissa, seeing that he had tighten his arms around her ever so slightly and I could only tell because of the tension in them.

**Apparently, Mia had found about the party and had blown up when she learned that Aaron had been there without her. She'd bitched at him and told him that if he wanted to be with her, he couldn't run around and hand out with Lissa. So Aaron had decided he didn't want to be with her. He'd broken up with her that morning…and moved on. Now he and Lissa were all over each other. They stood around in the hall and talking. Lissa's bond feelings showed only mild interest, despite her gazing at him as though he was the most fascinating thing on the planet. Most of this was for show, unbeknownst to him. He looked as though he could have built a shrine at her feet at any moment. **

Adrian smirked at the thought and Christian snorted, though he probably would do the same thing if she asked.

**And me? I felt ill. My feelings were nothing, however, compared to Mia's. At lunch, she sat on the far side of the room from us, eyes fixed pointedly ahead, ignoring the consolations of the friends near her. She had blotchy pink patches on her pale, round cheeks, and her eyes were red-rimmed. She said nothing mean when I walked past. No smug jokes. No mocking glares. Lissa had destroyed her, just as Mia had vowed to do us. The only person more miserable then Mia was Christian. Unlike her, he had no qualms about studying the happy couple while wearing an open look of hatred on his face. As usual, no one except me even noticed. **

"I think it is because you and Christian are alike." Lissa told us, looking between us.

"We are not!" Christian and I exclaimed at the same time, before glaring at each other. Lissa giggled some, while Eddie shook his head smiling slightly.

**After watching Lissa and Aaron make out for the tenth time, I left lunch early and went to see Ms. Carmack, the teacher who taught elemental basics. I'd been wanting to ask her something for a while. **

"**Rose, right?" She seemed surprised to see me but not angry or annoyed like half the other teachers did lately. **

"**Yeah. I have a question about, um, magic." **

**She raised an eyebrow. Novices didn't take magic classes. "Sure. What do you want to know?" **

"**I was listening to the priest talk about St. Vladimir the other day…Do you know what element he specialized in? Vladimir, I mean. Not the priest."**

**She frowned. "Odd. As famous as he is around here, I'm surprised it never comes up. I'm no expert, but in all the stories I've heard, he never did anything that I'd say connects to any one of the elements. Either that or no one ever recorded it." **

"**What about his healings?" I pushed further. "Is there an element that lets you preform those?" **

"**No, not that I know of." Her lips quirked into a small smile. "People of faith would say he healed through the power of God, not any sort of elemental magic. After all, one thing the stories are certain about is that he was 'full of spirit.'"**

"We really need to find more people who 'haven't specialized' and see if they control Spirit." Adrian furrowed his eyebrows at those rare moments where he was thinking hard about something. Everyone glanced at each other, before mom read more.

"**Is it possible he didn't specialize?" **

**Her smile faded. "Rose, is this really about St. Vladimir? Or is it about Lissa?" **

"**Not exactly…" I stammered. **

"**I know it's hard on her-especially in front of all her classmates-but she has to be patient," she explained gently. "It will happen. It always happens." **

"**But sometimes it doesn't."**

"**Rarely. But I don't think she'll be one of those. She's got a higher-than-average aptitude in all four, even if she hasn't hit specialized levels. One of them will shoot up any day now." That gave me an idea. **

"**Is it possible to specialize in more than one element?"**

**She laughed and shook her head. "No. Too much power. No one could handle all that magic, not without losing her mind." **

**Oh. Great. **

"**Okay. Thanks." I started to leave, then thought of something else. "Hey, do you remember Ms. Karp? What did she specialize in?" **

**Ms. Carmack got that uncomfortable look other teachers did whenever anyone mentioned Ms. Karp. "Actually-"**

"**What?"**

"**I almost forgot. I think she really was one of the rare ones who never specialized. She just always kept a very low control over all four." **

"I am not liking that you went behind my back for most of this to find these answers, Rose." Lissa narrowed her eyes at me and I shrug and gave her a look that purely showed I didn't care if she liked it or not.

**I spent the rest of my afternoon classes thinking about Ms. Carmack's words, trying to work them into my unified Lissa-Karp-Vladimir theory. I also watched Lissa. So many people wanted to talk to her now that she barely noticed my silence. Every so often, though, I'd see her glance at me and smile, a tired look in her eyes. Laughing and gossiping all day with people she only sort of liked was taking its toll on her. **

"**The mission's accomplished," I told her after school. "We can stop Project Brainwash." **

**We sat on benches in the courtyard, and she swung her legs back and forth. "What do you mean?" **

"**You've done it. You stopped people from making my life horrible. You destroyed Mia. You stole Aaron. Play with him for another couple weeks, then drop him and the other royals. You'll be happier." **

"**You don't think I'm happy now?"**

"Now? Yes. Then? No."

"**I know you aren't. Some of the parties are fun, but you hate pretending to be friends with people you don't like-and you don't like most of them. I know how much Xander pissed you off the other night." **

"**He's a jerk, but I can deal with that. If I stop hanging out with them, everything'll go back to the way it was. Mia will just start up again. This way, she can't bother us." **

"**It's not worth it if everything else is bothering you." **

"**Nothing's bothering me." She sounded a little defensive. **

"**Yeah?" I asked meanly. "Because you're so in love with Aaron? Because you can't wait to have sex with him again?"**

**She glared at me. "Have I mentioned you can be a huge bitch sometimes?"**

**I ignored that. "I'm just saying you've got enough shit to worry about without all this. You're burning yourself out with all the compulsion you're using."**

"**Rose!" She glanced anxiously around. "Be quiet!"**

"**But it's true. Using it all the time is going to screw with your head. For real."**

"**Don't you think you're getting carried away?"**

"**What about Ms. Karp?"**

**Lissa's expression went very still. "What about her?"**

"**You. You're just like her." **

"**No, I'm not!" Outrage flashed in those green eyes. **

"Hate to break it to ya, cousin." Adrian said, making everyone turn his or her attention to him. "But you are. Maybe not exactly, but you are." He then turned to my mom, motioning for her to read.

"**She healed too." Hearing me talk about this shocked her. This topic had weighed us down for so long, but we'd almost never spoken about it. **

"**That doesn't mean anything." **

"**You don't this it does? Do you know anyone else who can do that? Or can use compulsion on Dhampirs and Moroi?"**

"**She never used compulsion like that," she argued. **

"Apparently she did, she only used it on Rose though." Adrian looked at me.

"**She did. She tried to use it on me the night she left. It started to work, but then they took her away before she finished." Or had they? After all, it was only a month later that Lissa and I had run away from the Academy. I'd always thought that was my own idea, but maybe Ms. Karp's suggestion had been the true force behind it. Lissa crossed her arms. Her face looked defiant, but her emotions felt uneasy. **

"**Fine. So what? So she'd a freak like me. That doesn't mean anything. She went crazy because…well, that was just the way she was. That's got nothing to do with anything else." **

"**But it's not just her," I said slowly. "There's someone else like you guys, too. Someone I found." I hesitated. "You know St. Vladimir…" And that's when I finally let it all out. I told her everything. I told her about how she, Ms. Karp, and St. Vladimir could all heal and use super-compulsion. Although it made her squirm, I told her how they too grew easily upset and had tried to hurt themselves. **

"**He tried to kill himself," I said, not meeting her eyes. "And I used to notice marks on Ms. Karp's skin-like she'd claw at her own face. She tried to hide it with her hair, but I could see the old scratches and tell when she made new ones." **

"**It doesn't mean a**_**nything**_**," insisted Lissa. "It-it's all a coincidence." **

"Did you really believe that?" Adrian gave Lissa a pointed look.

"I wanted too."

**She sounded like she wanted to believe that, and inside, some part of her really did. But there was another part of her, a desperate part of her that had wanted for so long to know that she wasn't a freak, that she wasn't alone. Even if the news was bad, at least now she knew there were others like her. **

"**Is it a coincidence that neither of them seems to have specialized?" I recounted my conversation with Ms. Carmack and explained my theory about specializing in all four elements. I also repeated Ms. Carmack's comment about how that would burn someone out. Lissa rubbed her eyes when I finished, smudging a little of her makeup. **

**She gave me a weak smile. "I don't know what's crazier: what you're actually telling me or the face that you actually **_**read**_** something to find all this out." **

Eddie and Christian started to chuckle. Scowling at them, I motioned mom to keep reading the damn book.

**I grinned, relieved that she'd actually mustered a joke. "Hey, I know how to read too."**

"**I know you do. I also know it took you a year to read **_**The Da Vinci Code**_**." She laughed. **

"**That wasn't my fault! And don't try to change the subject." **

"**I'm not." She smiled, then sighed. "I just don't know what to think about all this."**

"**There's nothing to think about. Just don't do stuff that'll upset you. Remember coasting through the middle? Go back to that. It's a lot easier on you." **

**She shook her head. "I can't do that. Not yet."**

"**Why not? I already told you-" I stopped, wondering why I hadn't caught on before. "It's not just Mia. You're doing all this because you feel like you're **_**supposed**_** to. You're still trying to be Andre."**

"**My parents would have wanted me-"**

"**Your parents would have wanted you to be happy." **

Out of the corner of my eye I saw mom give a slight nod and Abe had this flash of emotion that was gone too quickly for me to actually know which emotion it was.

"**It's not that easy, Rose. I can't ignore these people forever. I'm royal too." **

"**Most of them suck."**

"**And a lot of them are going to help rule the Moroi. Andre knew that. He wasn't like the others, but he did what he had to do because he knew how important they were."**

**I leaned back against the bench. "Well, maybe that's the problem. We're deciding who's 'important' based on family alone, so we end up with these screw-up people making decisions. That's why Moroi numbers are dropping and bitches like Tatiana are queen. Maybe there needs to be a new royal system."**

"The only way that'll happen if we get a new Queen. And last time I checked, Tatiana is healthy." Adrian mentioned the fault in my logic.

"**Come on, Rose. This is the way it is; that's the way it's been for centuries. WE have to live that." I glared. "Okay, how about this?" she continued. "You're worried about me becoming like **_**them-**_** like Ms. Karp and St. Vladimir-right? Well, she said I shouldn't use the powers, that it would make things worse if I did. What if I just stop? Compulsion, healing, everything."**

Adrian tsked.

**I narrowed my eyes. "You could do that?" **

"No." Adrian shook his head.

**The convenient compulsion aside, that was what I'd wanted her to do the whole time. Her depression had started at the same time the power emerged, just after the accident. I had to believe they were connected, particularly in light of the evidence and Ms. Karp's warnings. **

"**Yes." **

**Her face was perfectly composed, her expression serious and steady. With her pale hair woven into a neat French braid and a suede blazer over her dress, she looked like she could have taken her family's place on the council right now. **

"**You'd have to give up everything," I warned. "No healing, no matter how cute and cuddly the animal. And no more compulsion to dazzle the royals." **

**She nodded seriously. "I can do it. Will that make you feel better?" **

"**Yeah, but I'd feel even better if you stopped magic **_**and**_** went back to hanging out with Natalie." **

"I take that back, don't hang out with Natalie."

"**I know, I know. But I can't stop, not now at least."**

**I couldn't get her to budge on that-**_**yet**_**- but knowing that she would avoid using her powers relieved me. **

"**All right," I said, picking up my backpack. I was late for practice. Again. "You can keep playing with the brat pack, so long as you keep the 'other stuff' in check." I hesitated. "And you know, you really have made your point with Aaron and Mia. You don't have to keep him around to keep hanging out with the royals."**

"**Why do I keep getting you don't like him anymore?"**

"**I like him okay- which is about as much as you like him. And I don't think you should get hot and sweaty with people you only like 'okay'."**

**Lissa widened her eyes in pretend astonishment. "Is this Rose Hathaway talking? Have you reformed? Or do **_**you**_** have someone you like 'more than okay'?"**

"Yes." I was pretty sure Adrian said it low enough that not everyone heard, but I did- and I was across the room- I glared at him.

"**Hey," I said uncomfortably, "I'm just looking out for you. That, and I never noticed how boring Aaron is before." **

**She scoffed. "You think everyone's boring."**

My friends grumbled under their breathes about disagreeing with that.

"**Christian isn't." It slipped out before I could stop it. **

"Wait, why does Ozera get the interesting verdict?" Adrian, who has basically not kept his mouth shut at all recently, asked.

"Like it said in the book it slipped out." Trying to stop any argument mom interrupted us with reading the next sentence.

**She quit smiling. "He's a **_**jerk**_**. He just stopped talking to me for no reason one day." She crossed her arms. "And don't you hate him anyway?"**

"**I can still hate him and think he's interesting."**

**But I was also starting to think that I might have made a big mistake about Christian. **

Christian starts smirking in my direction. Ignoring him…

**He was creepy and dark and liked to set people on fire, true. On the other hand, he was smart and funny-in a twisted way- and somehow had a calming effect on Lissa. But I'd messed it all up. I'd let my anger and jealousy get the best of me and ended up separating them. If I'd let him go to her in the garden that night, maybe she wouldn't have gotten upset and cut herself. Maybe they'd be together now, away from all the school politics. **

**Fate must have been thinking the same thing, because five minutes after I left Lissa, I passed Christian walking across the quad. Our eyes locked for a moment before we passed each other. I nearly kept walking. **_**Nearly**_**. Taking a deep breath, I came to a stop. "Wait…Christian." **

**I called out to him. Damn, I was so late for training. Dimitri was going to kill me. **

And if I remember correctly he had. He made me run more laps under an unbelievable amount of time and more lifts that training session.

"**Yeah?"**

"**Thanks for the books." He didn't say anything. "The ones you gave Mason."**

"**Oh, I thought you meant the other books." Smartass. **

Christian's smirk grew.

"**Aren't you going to ask what they were for?" **

"**Your business. Just figured you were bored being suspended." **

"**I'd have to be pretty bored for that." He didn't laugh at my joke. **

"**What do you want, Rose? I've got places to be." I knew he was lying, but my sarcasm no longer seemed as funny as usual. "I want you to, uh, hang out with Lissa again."**

"**Are you s**_**erious**_**?" He studied me closely, suspicion all over him. "After what you said to me?"**

"**Yeah, well…Didn't Mason tell you?..."**

**Christian's lips turned up into a sneer. "He told me something."**

"**And?"**

"**And I don't want to hear it from Mason." His sneer cranked up when I glared. "You sent him to apologize for you. Step up and do it yourself."**

"**You're a jerk." I informed him. **

"He is being a jerk." Jill clued him in that he was.

"**Yeah. And you're a lair. I want to see you eat your pride."**

"**I've been eating my pride for two weeks," I growled. Shrugging, he turned around and started to walk away.**

"**Wait!" I called, putting my hand on his shoulder. He stopped and looked back at me. "All right, all right. I lied about how she felt. She never said any of that stuff about you, okay? She **_**likes**_** you. I made it up because **_**I **_**don't like you."**

"**And yet you want me to talk to her."**

**When the next words left my lips, I could barely believe it. "I think…you might be…good for her."**

Jill and Lissa started giggling at my confession. I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

**We stared at each other for several heavy moments. His smirk dried up a little. Not much surprised him. This did. **

"**I'm sorry. I didn't hear you. Can you repeat that?" he finally asked. I almost punched him in the face. "Will you stop it already? I want you to hang out with her again."**

"**No."**

"**Look, I told you, I lied-"**

"**It's not that. It's **_**her**_**. You think I can think to her now? She's Princess Lissa again." Venom dripped off his words. "I can't go near her, not when she'd surrounded by all those royals."**

"**You're royal too," I said, more to myself than him. I kept forgetting the Ozeras were one of the twelve families.**

"**Doesn't mean much in a family full of strigoi, huh?"**

"**But **_**you're **_**not-wait. That's why she connects to you," I realized with a start. **

"**Because I'm going to become a Strigoi?" **

I don't think we meant to but Eddie, Christian, and I shuddered.

**He said snidely. "No…because you lost your parents too. Both of you saw them die."**

"**She saw hers die. I saw mine murdered."**

**I flinched. "I know. I'm sorry. It must have been…well, I don't have any idea what it was like."**

**Those crystal-blue eyes went unfocused. "It was like seeing an army of Death invade my house."**

"**You mean…your parents?"**

**He shook his head. "The guardians who came to kill them. I mean, my parents were scarey, yeah, but they still looked like my parents- a little paler, I guess. Some red in their eyes. But they walked and talked the same way. I didn't know anything was wrong with them, but my aunt did. She was watching me when they came for me." **

"**Were they going to convert you?" I forgotten my original mission here, too caught up in the story. "You were really little."**

"**I think they were going to keep me until I was older,-"**

"Proven much by Isaiah." Christian said his name with pure venom.

"Another Spokane reference? Seriously, a lot of us do not know what happened so we're confused." Again Adrian commented.

"If two of the books are my-our-past… the second one… would… be about Spokane. So you would know soon enough." The thought came to me right then, what the next book might be.

"Basically. Isaiah recognize my blood line and who my parents were and why they came back for me. Telling me he should do it for my parents, it was what they wanted. But I had to do it willingly or be killed."

Silence. I looked at my mom begging her with my eyes to read on to end this awkward silence.

**Then turn me. Aunt Tasha wouldn't let them take me. They tried to reason with her, convert her too, but when she wouldn't listen, they tried to take her by force. She fought them-got really messed up-and then the guardians showed up." His eyes drifted back to me. He smiled, but there was no happiness in it. "Like I said, an army of Death. I think you're crazy, Rose, but if you turn out like the rest of them, you're going to be able to do some serious damage one day. Even I won't mess with you."**

**I felt horrible. He'd had a miserable life, and I'd taken away one of the few good things in it. "Christian, I'm sorry for screwing things up between you and Lissa. It was stupid. She wanted to be with you. I think she still does now. If you could just-"**

"**I told you, I can't."**

"**I'm worried about her. She's into all this royal stuff because she thinks it's going to get back at Mia-she's doing it for me."**

"**And you aren't grateful?" The sarcasm returned.**

"No, I was not. I hated it." I pointed looked at Lissa who sighed and nods.

"**I'm worried. She can't handle playing all these catty political games. It isn't good for her, but she won't listen to me. I could…I could use help."**

"_**She**_** could use help. Hey, don't look so surprised-I know there's something funny going on with her. And I'm not even talking about the wrist thing."**

**I jumped. "Did she tell you?..." Why not? She'd told him everything else.**

"**She didn't need to," he said. "I've got eyes." I must have looked pathetic, because he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, if I catch Lissa alone…I'll try to talk to her. But honestly…if you really want to help her…well, I know I'm supposed to be all anti-establishment, but you might get the best help talking to somebody else. Kirova. Your guardian guy. I don't know. Someone who knows something. Someone you trust."**

"**Lissa wouldn't like that," I considered. "Neither would I."**

"**Yeah, well, we all have to do things we don't like. That's life." **

**My snarky switch flipped on. "What are you, an after-school special?" **

**A ghostly smile flickered across his face. "If you weren't so psychotic, you'd be fun to hand around."**

"**Funny, I feel that way about you too." He didn't say anything else, but the smile grew, and he walked away. **

"Did… you two… just bond?" Jill asked looking extremely confused.

"They did." Eddie acknowledges. "Which was a good thing, they did and that they are so much alike. Because if they weren't, and they didn't understand somewhat of each other, all of us would probably be dead."

Spokane… It got really quiet, nobody said anything really we all sat in our own thoughts.


	19. Reading Chapter 17

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 17

_After that _chapter dinner had come and we didn't bother opening to the next chapter, but eat and go to bed. I started to wonder when my parents were going to talk to me about well my dad… it's been two days and they haven't brought up anything that they would like to talk to me about it. I had no idea what they would say, but I knew it was probably why he stayed away which it was probably something about his sketchy work.

When everyone woke and had breakfast the next morning. Dimitri took the book, getting comfortable by crossing his right leg over his left. More like his right ankle was touching his left knee and he leaned over slightly resting his wrists on his leg while holding the book open.

**Chapter Seventeen. **

**A few days later, Lissa found me outside the commons and delivered the most astonishing news. "Uncle Victor's getting Natalie off campus this weekend to go shopping in Missoula. For the dance. They said I could come along."**

"Its not that astonishing." Jill said confused.

"It is when your under dorm arrest and shouldn't be going anywhere." I pointed out.

**I didn't say anything. She looked surprised at my silence. **

"**Isn't that cool?"**

"**For **_**you**_**, I guess. No malls or dances in my future."**

**She smiled excitedly. "He told Natalie she could bring two other people besides me. I convinced her to bring you and Camille."**

**I threw up my hands. "Well, thanks, but I'm not even supposed to go to the library after school. No one's going to let me go to Missoula."**

"**Uncle Victor thinks he can get Headmistress Kirova to let you go. Dimitri's trying too."**

"**Dimitri?"**

"**Yeah. He had to go with me if I leave campus." She grinned, taking my interest in Dimitri as interest in the mall. "They figured out my account finally-I got my allowance back. So we can buy other stuff along with dresses. And you know if they let you go to the mall, they'll have to let you go to the dance." **

"**Do we go to dances now?" I said. **

"No." Lissa said shaking her head slightly along.

**We never had before. School-sponsored social events? No way. **

"**Or course not. But you know they'll be all kinds of secret parties. We'll start at the dance and sneak off." She sighed happily. "Mia's so jealous she can barely stand it."**

**She went on about all the stores we'd go to, all the things we'd buy. I admit, I was kind of excited at the thought of getting some new clothes, but I doubted I'd actually get this mythical release. **

"**Oh hey," she said excitedly. "You should see these shoes Camille let me borrow. I never knew we wore the same size. Hang on." She opened her backpack and began rifling through it. Suddenly, she screamed and threw it down. Books and shoes spilled out. She did a dead dove. **

"Ew." Jill scrunched her face in discus.

**It was one of pale brown mourning doves that sat on wires along the freeway and under trees on campus. It had so much blood on it that I couldn't figure out where the wound was. Who knew something so small even had that much blood? Regardless, the bird was definitely dead. Covering her mouth, Lissa stared wordlessly, eyes wide. **

"**Son of a bitch," I swore. Without hesitating, I grabbed a stick and pushed the little feathered body aside. When it was out of the way, I started shoving her stuff back into the backpack, trying not to think about dead-bird germs. "Why the hell does this keep-Liss!" **

Jill and a couple of the other people sat up straighter, taking interest.

**I leapt over and grabbed her, pulling her away. She had been kneeling on the ground, with her hand outstretched to the dove. I don't think she'd even realized what she was about to do. The instant in her was so strong, it acted on its own. **

"**Lissa," I said, tightening my hand around hers. She was still learning toward the bird. "Don't. Don't do it."**

"**I can save it."**

"**No, you can't. You promised, remember? Some things have to stay dead. Let this one go." Still feelings her tension, I pleaded. "Please Liss. You promised. No more healings. You said you wouldn't. You promised me."**

**After a few more momemnts, I felt her hand relax and her body slump against mine. "I hate this, Rose. I hate all of this."**

**Natalie walked outside then, oblivious to the gruesome sight awaiting her. **

"**Hey, do you guys-oh my God!" she squealed, seeing the dove. "What is that?" **

"She was a good actress." Lissa sighed.

**I helped Lissa as we rose to our feet. "Another, um, prank." **

"**Is it…dead?" She scrunched up her face in disgust. **

"**Yes," I said firmly.**

**Natalie, picking up on our tension, looked between the two of us. "What else is wrong?"**

"**Nothing." I handed Lissa her backpack. "This is just someone's stupid, sick joke, and I'm going to tell Kirova so they can clean this up."**

**Natalie turned away, looking a little green. "Why do people keep doing this to you? It's horrible."**

**Lissa and I exchanged looks. **

Kind of what we just did, and we rolled our eyes.

"**I have no idea," I said. Yet as I walked to Kirova's office, I started to wonder. When we'd found the fox, Lissa had hinted that someone must know about the raven. I hadn't believed that. We'd been alone in the woods that night, and Ms. Karp wouldn't told anyone. But what if someone actually had seen? What if someone kept doing this not to scare her, but to see if she'd heal again? What had the rabbit note said? **_**I know what you are. **_

**I didn't mention any of this to Lissa; I figured there were only so many of my conspiracy theories she could handle. Besides, when I saw her the next day, she'd practically forgotten the dove in light of other news: Kirova had given me permission to go on the trip that weekend. The prospect of shopping can brighten a lot of dark situations-even animal murder-and I put my own worries on hold. **

**Only, when the time came, I discovered my release came with strings attached. **

I sighed to myself.

"**Headmistress Kirova thinks you've done well since coming back," Dimitri told me. **

"**Aside from starting a fight in Mr. Nagy's class?"**

"**She doesn't blame you for that. Not entirely. I convinced her you needed a break…and that you could use this as a training exercise."**

"**Training exercise?"**

**He gave me a brief explanation as we walked out to meet the others going with us. Victor Dashkov, as sickly as ever, was there with his guardians, and Natalie practically barreled into him. He smiled and gave her a careful hug, one that ended when a coughing fit took over. Natalie's eyes went wide with concern as she waited for it to pass. **

**He claimed he was fine to accompany us, and while I admired his resolve, I thought he'd be putting himself through a lot just to shop with a bunch of teenage girls. We rode out to the two-hour trip to Missoula in a large school van, leaving just after sunrise. Many Moroi lived separately from humans, but many also lived among them, and when shopping at their malls, you had to go during their hours. The back windows of the van had tinted glass to filter the light and keep the worst of it away from the vampires. **

**We had nine people in our group: Lissa, Victor, Natalie, Camille, Dimitri, me, and three other guardians. Two of the guardians, Ben and Spiridon, always traveled with Victor. The third was one of the school's guardians: Stan, the jerk who'd humiliated me on my first day back. **

"**Camille and Natalie don't have personal guardians yet," Dimitri explained to me. "They're both under the protection of their families' guardians. Since they are Academy students leaving campus, a school guardian. Most girls her age wouldn't have a personal guardian yet, but circumstances make her unusual." **

Dimitri almost nods to himself as to agree with his little speech he had given me in the book. Before he read more.

**I sat in the back of the van with him and Spiridon, so they could dispense guardian wisdom to me as part of the "training exercise." Ben and Stan sat up front, while the others sat in the middle. Lissa and Victor talked to each other a lot, catching up on news. Camille, raised to be polite among older royals, smiled and nodded along. Natalie, on the other hand, looked left out and kept trying to shift her father's attention from Lissa. It didn't work. He'd apparently learned to tune out her chatter. **

**I turned back to Dimitri. "She's supposed to have two guardians. Princes and princess always do." **

**Spiridon was Dimitri's age, with spiky blond hair and a more casual attitude. Despite his Greek name, he had a Southern drawl. "Don't worry, she'll have plenty when the time comes. Dimitri's already one of them. Odds are you'll be one too. And that's why you're here today." **

"**The training part," I guessed. **

"**Yup. You're going to be Dimitri's partner."**

**A moment of funny silence fell, probably not noticeable to anyone except Dimitri and me. Our eyes met. **

"**Guardian partner," Dimitri clarified unnecessarily, like maybe he too had been thinking of other kinds of partners. **

I can see where Dimitri was trying not to show that that was what he was thinking by giving away any emotion. But I saw, he didn't realized I had caught on to that.

"**Yup," agreed Spiridon. Oblivious to the tension around him, he went on to explain how guardian pairs worked. It was standard stuff, straight from my textbooks, but it meant more now that I'd be doing it in the real world. Guardians were assigned to Moroi based on importance. Two was a common grouping, one I'd probably work in a lot with Lissa. One guardian stayed close to the target; the other stood back and kept an eye on the surroundings. Boringly, those holding these positions were called near and far guards. **

"**You'll probably always be near guard," Dimitri told me. "You're female and the same age as the princess. You can stay close to her without attracting any attention." **

"**And I can't ever take my eyes off her," I noted. "Or you." **

**Spiridon laughed again and elbowed Dimitri. "You've got a star student there. Did you give her a stake?"**

"**No. She's not ready."**

"**I would be if **_**someone**_** would show me how to use one," I argued. I knew every guardian in the van had a stake and a gun concealed on him. **

"**More to it than just using the stake," said Dimitri in his old-and-wise way. **

He stopped reading and turned his head to give me a look as to say 'old-and-wise?'. While I tried to look so innocent, Adrian, Jill, Lissa, and Christian started laughing but tried to conceal it.

"**You've still got to subdue them. And you've got to bring yourself to kill them." **

"**Why wouldn't I kill them?"**

"**Most Strigoi used to be Moroi who purposely turned. Sometimes they're Moroi or Dhampirs turned by force. It doesn't matter. There's a strong chance you might know one of them. Could you kill someone you used to know?"**

**This trip was getting less fun by the minute.**

"**I guess so. I'd have to, right? If it's them or Lissa.."**

"**You might still hesitate," said Dimitri. "And that hesitation could kill you. And her."**

Mom nodded along to the whole thing, agreeing with the information Dimitri had been giving me.

"**Then how do you make sure you don't hesitate?"**

"**You have to keep telling yourself that they **_**aren't**_** the same people you knew. They've become something dark and twisted. Something unnatural. You have to let go of attachments and do what's right. If they have any grain of their former selves left, they'll probably be grateful." **

"**Grateful for me killing them?"**

"**If someone turned you into a Strigoi, what would you want?" he asked. I didn't know how to answer that, so I said nothing. Never taking his eyes off me, he kept pushing. **

"**What would you want if you knew you were going to be converted into a Strigoi against your will? If you knew you would lose all sense of your old morals and understanding of what's right and wrong? If you knew you'd live the rest of your life-your immortal life- killing innocent people? What would you want?"**

**The van had grown uncomfortably silent. **

Just like it had now, but Dimitri's voice as he read.

**Staring at Dimitri, burdened by all those questions, I suddenly understood why he and I had this weird attraction, good looks aside. I'd never met anyone else who took being a guardian so seriously, who understand all the life-and-death consequences. Certainly no one my age did yet; Mason hadn't been able to understand why I couldn't relax and drink at the party. Dimitri had said I grasped my duty better than many older guardians, and I didn't get why-especially when they would have seen so much more death and danger. But I knew in that moment that he was right, that I had some weird sense of how life and death and good and evil worked with each other. **

**So did he. We might get lonely sometimes. We might have to put our "fun" on hold. We might not be able to live the lives we wanted for ourselves. But that was the way it had to be. We understood each other, understood that we had others to protect. Our lives would never be easy. And making decisions like this one was part of that. **

"**If I became Strigoi…I'd want someone to kill me." **

"**So would I," he said quietly. I could tell that he'd had the same flash of realization I'd just had, that same sense of connection between us. **

I've been ignoring the looks my parents have been giving Dimitri and I. They hadn't really said anything sense Jill kind of pointed out that Dimitri knew of my crush on him, well it was more than a crush now and he knew it. Hopefully, they still thought that, but they weren't dumb they would probably figure it out soon.

"**It reminds me of Mikhail hunting Sonya," murmured Victor thoughtfully. **

"**Who are Mikhail and Sonya?" asked Lissa. **

**Victor looked surprised. "Why, I thought you knew. Sonya Karp."**

"**Sonya Kar…you mean, Ms. Karp? What about her?" She looked back and forth between me and her uncle. **

"**She…became Strigoi," I said, not meeting Lissa's eyes. "By choice." **

**I'd know Lissa would find out some day. It was the final piece of Ms. Karp's saga, a secret I'd kept to myself. A secret that worried me constantly. Lissa's face and bond registered complete and utter shook, growing in intensity when she realized I'd known and never told. **

"**But I don't know who Mikhail is," I added. **

"**Mikhail Tanner," said Spiridon. **

"**Oh. Guardian Tanner. He was here before we left." I frowned. "Why is he chasing Ms. Karp?"**

"**To kill her," said Dimitri flatly. "They were lovers."**

"Uh." Jill commented, then look thoughtful. I had no idea why, though.

**The entire Strigoi things shifted into a new focus for me. Running into a Strigoi I knew during the heat of battle was one thing. Purposely hunting down someone…someone I'd loved. Well, I didn't know if I could do that, even if it was technically the right thing. **

"**Perhaps it is time to talk about something else," said Victor gently. "Today isn't a day to dwell on depressing topics." **

**I think all of us felt relieved to get to the mall. Shifting into my bodyguard role, I stuck by Lissa's side as we wandered from store to store, looking at all the new styles that were out there. It was nice to be in public again and do to something with her that was just **_**fun**_** and didn't involve any of the dark, twisted politics of the Academy. It was almost like old times. I'd missed just hanging out. I'd missed my best friend. **

**Although it was only just past mid-November, the mall already had glittering holiday decorations up. I decided I had the best job ever. Admittedly, I did feel a little put out when I realized the older guardians got to stay in contact through cool little communication devices. When I protested my lack of one, Dimitri told me I'd better without one. **

I pretended to pout.

**If I could handle protecting Lissa the old-fashioned way, I could handle anything. Victor and Spiridon stayed with us while Dimitri and Ben fanned out, somehow managing not to look like creepy stalker guys watching teenage girls. **

Dimitri paused for a moment, then looked up. "We know how to do our job Rose."

"Yeah, but that's basically what it would be if it wasn't your job."

"**This is so you," said Lissa in Macy's, handing me a low cut tank top embellished lace. "I'll but it for you." **

**I regarded it longingly, already picturing myself in it. Then, making my regular eye contact with Dimitri, I shook my head and handed it back. "Winter's coming. I'd coming cold." **

"**Never stopped you before." **

**Shrugging, she hung it back up. She and Camille tried on a nonstop string of clothes, their massive allowances ensuring that price posed no problem. Lissa offered to buy me anything I wanted. We'd been generous with each other our whole lives, and I didn't hesitate to take her up on it. My choices surprised her. **

"**You've got three thermal shirts and a hoodie," she informed me, flipping through a stack of BCBG jeans. "You've gone all boring on me."**

"**Hey, I don't see you buying slutty tops." **

"**I'm not the one who wears them."**

"**Thanks a lot."**

"**You know what I mean. You're even wearing your hair up." It was true. I'd taken Dimitri's advice and wrapped my hair up in a high bun, earning a smile when he'd seen me. If I'd had **_**Molnija**_** marks, they would have shown. **

Now, that I have two…

**Glancing around, she made sure none of the other could hear us. The feelings in the bond shifted to something more troubled. **

"**You knew about Ms. Karp."**

"**Yeah. I heard about it a month or so after she left." **

**Lissa tossed a pair of embroidered jeans over her arm, not looking at me. "Why didn't you tell me?" **

"**You didn't need to know."**

"**You didn't think I could handle it?"**

**I kept my face perfectly blank. As I stared at her, my mind was back in time, back to two years ago. I'd been on day two years ago. I'd been on day two of my suspension for allegedly destroying Wade's room when a royal party visited the school. I'd been allowed to attend that reception too but had been under heavy guard to make sure I didn't "try anything." Two guardians escorted me to the commons and talked quietly with each other along the way. **

"**She killed the doctor attending her and nearly took out half the patients and nurses on her way out." **

"**Do they have any idea where she went?" **

"**No, they're tracking her…but, well, you know how it is." **

"**I never expected her to do this. She never seemed like the type." **

"**Yeah, well, Sonya was crazy. Did you see how violent she was getting near the end? She was capable of anything." I'd been trudging along miserably and jerked my head up. **

"**Sonya? You mean Ms. Karp?" I asked. "She killed somebody?"**

**The two guardian exchanged looks. Finally, one said gravely, "She became a Strigoi, Rose."**

**I stopped walking and stared. "Ms. Karp? No…she wouldn't have…"**

"**I'm afraid so," the other one replied. "But…you should keep that to yourself. It's a tragedy. Don't make it school gossip." **

"They apparently made it gossip though. I mean, you were right there." Jill commented.

"Sometimes, Guardians talk gossip just as much."

**I went through the rest of the night in a daze. Ms. Karp. Crazy Karp. She'd killed someone to became Strigoi. I couldn't believe it. When the reception ended, I managed to sneak off from my guardians and steal a few precious moments with Lissa, The bond had grown strong by now, and I hadn't needed to see her face to know how miserable she was. **

"**What's wrong?" I asked her. We were in a corner of the hallway, just outside the commons. Her eyes were blank. I could feel how she had a headache; its pain transferred to me. "I…I don't know. I just feel weird. I feel like I'm being followed, like I have to be careful, you know?"**

**I didn't know what to say. I didn't think she was being followed, but Ms. Karp used to say the same thing. Always paranoid. **

"Apparently she wasn't." Lissa mumbled to herself.

"**It's probably nothing," I said lightly. **

"**Probably," she agreed. Her eyes suddenly narrowed. "But Wade isn't. He won't shut up about what happened. You can't believe the things he's saying about you."**

**I could, actually, but I didn't care. "Forget about him. He's nothing." **

"**I hate him," she said. Her voice was uncharacteristically sharp. "I'm on the committee with him for that fund-rasier, and I **_**hate**_** hearing him run his fat mouth every day and seeing him flirt with anything female that walks by. You shouldn't be punished for what he did. He needs to pay."**

**My mouth went dry. "It's okay…I don't care. Calm down, Liss."**

"_**I**_** care," she snapped, turning her anger on me. "I wish there was a way I could get back at him. Some way to hurt him like he hurt you." She put her hands behind her back and paced back and forth furiously, her steps hard and purposeful. The hatred and anger boiled within her. I could feel it in the bond. **

**It felt like a storm, and it scared the hell out of me. Wrapped around it all was an uncertainty, and instability that said Lissa didn't know what to do but that she wanted desperately to do something. Anything. My mind flashed to the night with the baseball bat. And then I thought about Ms. Karp. **_**She became a Strigoi, Rose. **_

"This is the night, you wanted to leave the school." Not a question, but a statement from Lissa as a remembrance. Everyone immediately became interested again.

**It was the scariest moment of my life. Scarier than seeing her in Wade's room. Scarier than seeing her heal that raven. Scarier than my capture by the guardians would be. Because just then, I didn't know my best friend. I didn't know what she was capable of. A year earlier, I would have laughed at anyone who said she'd want to go Strigoi. But a year earlier, I also would have laughed at anyone who said she'd want to cut her wrists or make someone "pay."**

**In that moment, I suddenly believed she might do the impossible. And I had to make sure she didn't. **_**Save her. Save her from herself. **_

"Why does that sound like a form of compulsion without even looking at you?" Adrian furrowed his eyebrows and grasped his chin between his thumb and pointer finger deep in thought.

"**We're leaving," I said, taking her arm and steering her down the hall. "Right now."**

**Confusion momentarily replaced her anger. "What do you mean? You want to go to the woods or something?"**

**I didn't answer. Something in my attitude or words must have startled her, because she didn't question me as I left us out of the commons, cutting across campus toward the parking lot where visitors came. It was filled with cars belonging to tonight's guests. One of them was a large Lincoln Town Car, and I watched as its chauffeur started it up. **

"**Someone's leaving early," I said, peering at him from around a cluster of bushes. I glanced behind us and saw nothing. "They'll probably be here any minute." **

**Lissa caught on. "When you said, 'We're leaving,' you meant…no. Rose, we can't leave the Academy. We'd never get through the wards and checkpoints."**

"**We don't have to," I said firmly. "He does."**

"**But how does that help us?" I took a deep breath, regretting what I had to say but seeing it as the lesser of evils. **

"**You know how you made Wade do those things?" She flinched but nodded. **

"**I need you to do the same thing. Go up to that guy and tell him to hide us in his trunk."**

**Shock and fear poured out of her. She didn't understand, and she was scared. Extremely scared. She'd been scared for weeks now, ever since the healing and the moods and Wade. She was fragile and on the edge of something neither of us understood. But through all of that, she trusted me. She believed I would keep her safe. **

"**Okay," she said. She took a few steps toward him, then looked back at me. "Why? Why are we doing this?"**

**I thought about Lissa's anger, her desire to do **_**anything**_** to get back at Wade. And I thought about Ms. Karp-pretty, unstable Ms. Karp-going Strigoi. "I'm taking care of you," I said. "You don't need to know anything else." **

"That seemed easy, enough." Adrian looked at the floor before shaking his head. "Well, for you guys because of Lissa. But would've been hard for anyone else. You used her strengths and it paid off."

**At the mall in Missoula, standing between racks of designer clothes, Lissa asked again, "Why didn't you tell me?"**

"**You didn't need to know," I repeated. She headed toward the dressing room, still whispering with me. "You're worried I'm going to lost it. Are you worried I'll go Strigoi too?" **

"**No. No way. That was all her. You'd never do that." **

"**Even if I was crazy?"**

"**No," I said, trying to make a joke. "You'd just shave your head and live with thirty cats."**

**Lissa's feelings grew darker, but she didn't say anything else. Stopping just outside the dressing room, she pulled a black dress off the rack. She brightened a little. **

"**This is the dress you were born for. I don't care how practical you are now." **

At the mention of the dress Dimitri and I froze, and he paused but only long enough that it was only recognizable to me.

**Made of silky black material, the dress was strapless and sleek, falling about the knees. Although it had a slight flair at the hemline, the rest looked like it would definitely manage some serious clinging action. Super sexy. Maybe even challenge-the-school-dress-code sexy. **

Lissa nods and so did Eddie. But I was too buzzy wondering if the Lust charm was in the last few chapters. I wouldn't put it by, everything else was already in this damn book.

"**That is my dress," I admitted. I kept staring at it, wanting it so badly that it ached in my chest. This was the kind of dress that changed the world. The kind of dress that started religions. Lissa pulled out my size. "Try it on."**

**I shook my head and started to put it back. "I can't. It would compromise you. One dress isn't worth your grisly death." **

"**Then we'll just get it without you trying it on." She bought the dress. **

**The afternoon continued, and I found myself growing tired. Always watching and being on guard suddenly became a lot less fun. When we hit our last shop, a jewelry store, I felt of glad. **

"**Here you go," said Lissa, pointing at one of the cases. "The necklace made to go with your dress."**

**I looked. A thing gold chain with a gold-and-diamond rose pendent. **

Dimitri and I glanced at each other. I knew he was wondering the same thing about the Lust Charm. I knew we both slightly alarmed by it, this would prove that we lied.

**Emphasis on the diamond part. "I hate rose stuff."**

**Lissa had always loved getting me rose things-just to see my reaction, I think. When she saw the necklace's price, her smiled fell away. **

"**Oh, look at that. Even you have limits," I teased. "Your crazy spending is stopped at last." We waited for Victor and Natalie to finish up. He was apparently buying her something, and she looked like she might grow wings and fly away with happiness. I was glad. She'd been dying for his attention. Hopefully he was buying her something extra-expensive to make up for it. **

I snorted at that. Expensive? Yes. For her? Nope.

**We rode home in tired silence, our sleep schedules all messed up by the daylight trip. Sitting next to Dimitri, I leaned back against the seat and yawned, very aware that our arms were touching. That feeling of closeness and connection burned between us. **

"**So, I can't ever try on clothes again?" I asked quietly, not wanting to wake up the others. Victor and the guardians were awake, but the girls had fallen asleep. **

"**When you aren't on duty, you can. You can do it during your time off."**

"**I don't ever want time off. I want to always take care of Lissa." I yawned again. "Did you see that dress?"**

"**I saw the dress."**

"You're drawing yourself into a dangerous territory, Belikov." Adrian commented. Something told me he meant it as more than if I was simply going to ask if he liked it. Dimitri ignored him and went on.

"**Did you like it?" He didn't answer. I took that as a yes. **

"**Am I going to endanger my reputation if I wear it to the dance?"**

**When he spoke, I could barely hear him. "You'll endanger the school."**

"Good answer." Adrian nod his approval while my parents gave Dimitri a once over kind of glare.

**I smiled and fell asleep. When I woke up, my head rested against his shoulder. That long coat of his-the duster- covered me like a blanket. The van had stopped; we were back at school. I pulled the duster off and climbed out after him, suddenly feeling wide awake and happy. Too bad my freedom was about to end. **

"**Back to prison," I sighed, walking beside Lissa toward the commons. "Maybe if you fake a heart attack, I can make a break for it." **

"**Without your clothes?" She handed me a bag, and I swung it around happily. "I can't wait to see the dress."**

"**Me either. If they let me go. Kirova's still deciding if I've been good enough."**

"**Show her those boring shirts you brought. She'll go into a coma. I'm about ready to."**

**I laughed and hopped up onto one of the wooden benches, pacing her as I walked along it. I jumped back down when I reached the end. "They aren't **_**that**_** boring."**

"**I don't know what to think of this new, responsible Rose."**

**I hopped up onto another bench. "I'm not that responsible."**

"**Hey," called Spiridon. He and the rest of the group trailed behind us. "You're still on duty. No fun allowed up there." **

"**No fun here," I called back, hearing the laughter in his voice. "I swear-shit."**

"What happened?" Jill perked up a little while everyone gave her a look that almost seemed like all of us were telling her she was fixing to find out.

**I was up on a third bench, near the end of it. My muscles tensed, ready to jump back down. Only when I tried to, my foot didn't go with me. The wood, at one moment seemingly hard and solid, gave way beneath me, almost as though made of paper. It disintegrated. My foot went through, my ankle getting caught in the hole while the rest of my body tried to go in another direction. The bench held me, swinging my body to the ground while still seizing my foot. My ankle bent in an unnatural direction. I crashed down. I heard a cracking sound that wasn't the wood. The worst pain of my life shot through my body. **

**And then I blacked out. **

"So you broke your ankle?" Jill questioned.

"Would've broken it." Jill look confused for a moment, before got that Lissa had healed me.


	20. Reading Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 18

_Abe took _the book again.

**Chapter eighteen. **

**I woke up staring at the boring white ceiling of the clinic. A filtered light-soothing to Moroi patients-shone down on me. I felt strange, kind of disoriented, but I didn't hurt. **

"Why?" Jill questioned.

"Listen." I whispered and pointed to the book.

"**Rose." **

**The voice was like silk on my skin. Gentle. Rich. Turning my head, I met Dimitri's dark eyes.**

I worked hard not to let my cheeks heat up, which I think worked.

**He sat in a chair beside the bed I lay on, his shoulder-length brown hair hanging forward and framing his face. **

"**Hey," I said, my voice coming out as a croak.**

"**How do you feel?"**

"**Weird. Kid of groggy."**

"**Dr. Olendzki gave you something for the pain-you seemed pretty bad when we brought you in."**

"**I don't remember that…How long have I been out?"**

"**A few hours."**

"**Must have been strong. Must still be strong." Some of the details came back. The bench. My ankle getting caught. I couldn't remember much after that. Feeling hot and cold and then hot again. Tentatively, I tried moving the toes on my healthy foot. "I don't hurt at all."**

**He shook his head. "No. Because you weren't seriously injured." **

" . I was." I said aloud and gave Lissa a look. She looked sheepish and snuggled into Christian more.

**The sound of my ankle cracking came back to me. "Are you sure? I remember…the way it bent. No. Something must be broken." I manage to sit up, so I could look at my ankle. "Or at least sprained."**

**He moved forward to stop me. "Be careful. Your ankle might be fine, but you're probably still a little out of it."**

**I carefully shifted to the edge of the bed and looked down. My jeans were rolled up. The ankle looked a little red, but I had no bruises or serious marks. **

"**God, I got lucky. If I'd hurt it, it would have put me out of practice for a while."**

**Smiling, he returned to his chair. "I know. You kept telling me that while I was carrying you. You were very upset." **

"**You…you carried me here?"**

"**After we broke the bench apart and freed your foot." Man. I missed out on a lot. The only thing better than imagining Dimitri carrying me in his arms was imagining him shirtless while carrying me in his arms. **

As Abe finished that sentence I hid my face in my lap feeling my face heat up, embarrassed. Eddie, Adrian, and Christian seemed to be the only ones finding this amusing, chuckled. Clearing his throat, probably out of slight discomfort than anything, Abe read on.

**Then the reality of the situation hit me. **

"**I was taken down by a bench," I groaned. **

"Not my finest moment." I pointed out, shaking my head slightly.

"Oh? You have one?" Christian remarked. I glared at him.

"**What?"**

"**I survived the whole day guarding Lissa, and you guys said I did a good job. Then, I get back here and meet my downfall in the form of a bench." Ugh. "Do you know how embarrassing it is? And all those guys saw, too."**

"**It wasn't your fault," he said. "No one knew the bench was rotted. It looked fine."**

"Natalie's power was Earth right?" Christian asked Lissa who nods.

"Victor's too… but he was too weak to use any power. Natalie must've made the bench rot. You said it, Guardian Belikov, it looked perfectly fine. She could've used her powers and made it rot." The more I thought about it, the more it made sense. Nobody really agreed nor disagreed with Christian.

"**Still. I should have just stuck to the sidewalk like a normal person.-**

"Little Dhampir, we all know you are not normal." I huffed and crossed my arms over my chest.

"I am more normal than you. Crazy Ivashkov." Adrian narrowed his eyes at me but said nothing more.

**The other novices are going to give me shit when I get back."**

"No we wouldn't." Eddie said. I gave him a 'oh really' type of look he sighed.

"Believe it or not, we wouldn't have."

**His lips held back a smile. "Maybe presents will cheer you up." **

**I sat up straighter. "Presents?"**

"Of course that made her happy." Adrian grinned then shook his head.

**The smile escaped, and he handed me a small box with a piece of paper. **

"**This is from Prince Victor." Surprised that Victor would have given me anything, I read the note. **

"Was it the necklace that had that… attack charm thing on it?" Christian asks. I nod, not knowing what to say at the moment. I glanced at Dimitri whom seemed deep in thought.

**It was just a few lines, hastily scrawled in pen. **

_**Rose- I'm very happy to see you didn't suffer any serious injured from your fall. Truly, it is a miracle. You lead a charmed life, and Vasilisa is lucky to have you.**_

"**That's nice of him," I said, opening the box. Then I saw what was inside. "Whoa. Very nice."**

**It was the rose necklace, the one Lissa had wanted to get me but couldn't afford. I held it up, looping its chain over my hand so the glittering, diamond-covered rose hung free. **

"**This is pretty extreme for a get-well present," I noted, recalling the price. **

"**He actually bought it in honor of you doing so well on your first day as an official guardian. He saw you and Lissa looking at it." **

"No he didn't." I whispered.

"**Wow." It was all I could say. "I don't think I did **_**that**_** good of a job."**

"**I do." **

**Grinning, I placed the necklace back in the box and set it on a nearby table. "You did say 'presents', right? Like more than one?" **

**He laughed outright, and the sound wrapped around me like a caress. God, I loved the sound of his laugh. **

Dimitri looked over to me and lift one of his eyebrows. I gave nothing, well I hoped I showed nothing but Dimitri and I seemed to read each other better than anyone else could.

"**This is from me." **

**He handed me a small, plain bag. Puzzled and excited, I opened it up. Lip gloss, the kind I liked. I'd complained to him a number of times how I was running out, but I'd never thought he was paying attention. **

"**How'd you manage to buy this? I saw you the whole time at the mall." **

"**Guardian secrets." **

"**What's this for? For my first day?"**

"**No," he said simply. "Because I thought it would make you happy." **

**Without even thinking about it, I leaned forward and hugged him. "Thank you." **

**Judging from his stiff posture, I'd clearly myself by surprise, too. But he relaxed a few moments later, and when he reached around and rested his hands on my lower back, **

I closed my eyes and surpressed a groan of annoyance.

**I thought I was going to die. **

It was silent for a moment, before the whole room irrupted with laughter. Even Dimitri's and my parents.

I hit Dimitri. "Shut it, Comrade."

He immediately shut his mouth, but kept the smile from laughing on his face and the amusement. I sighed.

"I fucking hate that book." I grumbled under my breath. After everyone cooled down a bit, Abe read more.

"**I'm glad you're better," he said. His mouth sounded like it was almost in my hair, just above my ear. "When I saw you fall…"**

"**You thought, 'Wow, she's a loser'."**

"No." Dimitri responded.

"**That's not what I thought." He pulled back slightly, so he could see me better, but we didn't say anything. His eyes were so dark…and…deep-**

"I am skipping a few sentences as I don't want to know this." Abe skimmed the lines looking for what seemed a safe place to start reading again.

**A soft knock sounded at the door, and I hastily leaned back. Dr. Olendzki stuck her head in. "I thought I heard you talking. How do you feel?"**

**She walked over and made me lie back down. Touching and bending my ankle, she assessed it for damage and finally shook her head when finished. **

"**You're lucky. With all the noise you made coming in here, I thought your foot had been amputated. Must have just been shock." **

"No. It was broken."

"Okay Rose we get it. I am sorry." Lissa said, almost having a whining tone.

**She stepped back. "I'd feel better if you sat out from your normal trainings tomorrow, but otherwise, you're good to go." **

**I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't remember my hysteria-and was actually kind of embarrassed that I'd thrown such a fit-but I had been right about the problems this would have caused me if I'd broken or sprained it. I couldn't afford to lose any time here; I needed to take my trails and graduate in the spring. Dr. Olendzki gave me the okay to go and then left the room. Dimitri walked over to another chair and brought me my shoes and coat. Looking at him, I felt a warm flush sweep me as I recalled what had happened before the doctor had enetered. **

**He watched as I slipped one of the shoes on. "You have a guardian angel."**

"**I don't believe in angels," I told him. "I believe in what I can do for myself."**

"**Well then, you have an amazing body,"**

Adrian and Eddie laughed as Dimitri gave a small groan of annoyance- that I am pretty sure only I heard- at the sound of him saying I have an amazing body. I couldn't help but join in the laughing after a while. My parent's were glaring at Dimitri, I knew I wasn't going to be the only one getting a talk from them. Mine might be about why the old man was never around or what happened. Dimitri's was probably going to be about professionalism or a threat from the old man. Abe waited semi-patiently for us to stop laughing before he cleared his throat…

**I glanced up at him with a questioning look. "For healing, I mean. I heard about the accident…"**

**He didn't specify which accident it was, but it could be only one. Talking about it normally bothered me, but with him, I felt I could say anything.**

"**Everyone said I shouldn't have survived," I explained. "Because of where I sat and the way the car hit the tree. Lissa was really the only one in a secure spot. She and I walked away with only a few scratches." **

"**And you don't believe in angels or miracles."**

"**Nope. I-"**

_**Truly, it is a miracle. You lead a charmed life…**_

**And just like that, a million thoughts came slamming into my head. Maybe…maybe I had a guardian angel after all…**

**Dimitri immediately noticed the shift in my feelings. **

Everyone then looked questioning at us. I don't know why but I gave Abe a look to keep reading and he did.

"**What's wrong?"**

**Reaching out my mind, I tried to expand the bond and shake off the lingering effects of the pain medication. Some more of Lissa's feelings came through to me. Anxious. Upset. **

"**Where's Lissa? Was she here?"**

"**I don't know where she is. She wouldn't leave your side while I brought you in. She stayed right next the bed, right up until the doctor came in. You calmed down when she sat next to you."**

"Because she healed you." Jill explained, unnecessarily to us, but more for her sake.

**I closed my eyes and felt like I might faint. I had calmed down when Lissa sat next to me because she'd taken the pain away. She'd healed me…**

**Just as she had the night of the accident. **

**It all made sense now. I shouldn't have survive. Everyone had said so. Who knew what kind of injuries I'd actually suffered? Internal bleeding. Broken bones. It didn't matter because Lissa had fixed it, just like she'd fixed everything else. That was why she'd been leaning over me when I woke up. It was also probably why she'd passed out when they took her to the hospital. She'd been exhausted for days afterward. And that was when her depression had begun. It had seemed like a normal reaction after losing her family, but now I wondered if there was more to it, if healing me had played a role. **

"That's some deep crap right there." I had no idea who had said that, but that was the truth.

**Opening my mind again, I reached out to her, needing to find her. If she'd healed me, there was no telling what shape she could be in now. Her moods and magic were linked, and this had been a pretty intense show of magic. The drug was almost gone from my system, and like that, I snapped into her. It was almost easy now. A tidal wave of emotions hit me, worse than when her nightmares engulfed me. I'd never felt such intensity from her before. **

I see Lissa narrow her eyes, but out of curiosity than anything else. I still wish she stop trying to block off her feelings. I knew how hard she must be trying to keep them blocked and I knew they were putting a strain on her.

**She sat in the chapel's attic, crying. She didn't entirely know why she was crying either. She felt happy and relieved that I'd been unharmed, that she'd been able to heal me. At the same time, she felt weak in both body and mind. She burned inside, like she'd used her powers. She dreaded going through another school day tomorrow, pretending she liked being with a crowd who had no other interests aside from spending their families' money and making fun of those less beautiful and less popular. She didn't want to go to the dance with Aaron and see him watch her so adoringly-and feel him touching her- when she felt only friendship for him. **

Christian looked smug for a moment, then realized something and squeezed Lissa a little, more out of comfort than anything.

**Most of these were all normal concerns, but they hit her hard, harder than they would an ordinary person, I thought. She couldn't sort through them or figure out how to fix them. **

"**You okay?"**

**She looked up and brushed the hair away from where it stuck to her wet cheeks. Christian stood in the entrance to the attic. She hadn't even heard him come up the stairs. She'd been too lost in her own grief. A flicker of both longing and anger sparked within her. **

"**I'm fine," she snapped. Sniffling, she tried to stop her tears, not wanting him to see her weak. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and wore an unreadable expression. "Do…do you want to talk?"**

"**Oh…" She laughed harshly. "You want to talk now? After I tried so many times-"**

"**I didn't want that! That was Rose-"**

"Busted." Adrian sang and smiled at me. Abe glanced up, fixed Adrian a look that made him stop smiling and Abe continued.

**He cut himself off and I flinched. I was totally busted. Lissa stood up and strode toward him. "What about Rose?" **

"**Nothing." His mask of indifference slipped back into place. "Forget it."**

"_**What about Rose?" **_**She stepped closer. Even through her anger, she still felt that inexplicable attraction to him. And she understood. "She **_**made**_** you, didn't she? She told you to stop talking to me?"**

**He stared stonily ahead. "It was probably for the best. I would have just messed things up for you. You wouldn't be where you are now."**

"I don't care." I heard Lissa whisper to Christian.

"**What's that supposed to mean?"**

"**What do you think it means? God. People live or die at your command now, Your Highness."**

"Seemed like it." I glanced up at Lissa, who huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, very child-like.

"**You're being kind of melodramatic."**

"**Am I? All day, I hear people talking about what you're doing and what you're thinking and what you're wearing. Whether you'll approve. Who you like. Who you hate. They're your puppets." **

"**It's not like that. Besides, I had to do it. To get back at Mia…"**

**Rolling his eyes, he looked away from her. "You don't even know what you're getting back at her for."**

**Lissa's anger flared. "She set up Jesse and Ralf to say those things about Rose! I couldn't let her get away with that."**

"**Rose is tough. She would have gotten over it."**

"I would have." I nod my head, only to hear another huff from Lissa.

"**You didn't see her," she replied obstinately. "She was crying." **

"**So? People cry. **_**You're**_** crying."**

"**Not Rose."**

**He turned back to her, a dark smile curling his lips. "I've never seen anything like you two. Always so worried about each other. I get her thing-some kind of weird guardian hand-up-but you're just the same."**

"**She's my friend."**

"**I guess it's that simple. I wouldn't know." He sighed, momentarily thoughtful, then snapped back to sarcastic mode. **

"**Anyway. Mia. So you got back at her over what she did to Rose. But you're missing the point. **_**Why**_** did she do it?"**

**Lissa frowned. "Because she was jealous about me and Aaron-"**

"**More to it than that, Princess. What did she have to be jealous about? She already had him. She didn't need to attack you to drive that home. She could have just made a big show of being all over him. Sort of like you are now," he added wryly. **

"**Okay. What else is there, then? Why did she want to ruin my life; I never did anything to her-before all this, I mean." **

**He leaned forward, crystal-blue eyes boring into hers. **

"**You're right. You didn't-but you brother did."**

**Lissa pulled away from him. "You don't know anything about my brother."**

"**I know he screwed Mia over. Literally."**

"Ew." Almost everyone sighed and looked over at Jill who had a look of discuss, but then trying to figure something out.

"**Stop it, stop lying."**

"**I'm not. Swear to God or whoever else you want to believe in. I used to talk to Mia now and then, back when she was a freshman. She wasn't very popular, but she was smart. Still is. She used to work on a lot of committees with royals-dances and stuff. I don't know all of it. But she got to know your brother on one of those, and they sort of got together."**

"**They did not. I would have known. Andre would have told me."**

"**Nope. He didn't tell anyone. He told her not to either. He convinced her it should be some kind of romantic secret when really, he just didn't want any of his friends to find out he was getting naked with a non-royal freshman." **

"I really don't see the problem with that." Jill said.

"It's a blood thing. Mia didn't have any Royal blood. If they were going to be more, if _any_ royal was going to be more. Especially the Dragomir line, they had to have enough blood to past it on." Adrian said, looking confusedly over at Jill like 'why hadn't she know that?'

"Oh." Jill said in a small voice.

"**If Mia told you that, she was making it up," exclaimed Lissa. **

"**Yeah, well, I don't think she was making it up when I saw her crying. He got tired of her after a few weeks and dumped her. Told her she was too young and that he couldn't really be serious with someone who wasn't from a good family. From what I understand, he wasn't even nice about it either-didn't even bother with the 'let's be friends' stuff."**

**Lissa pushed herself into Christian's face. "You didn't even **_**know**_** Andre! He would never have done that." **

"_**You**_** didn't know him. I'm sure he was nice to his baby sister; I'm sure he loved you. But in school, with his friends, he was just as much of a jerk as the rest of the royals. I saw him because I see everything. Easy when no one notices you."**

Christian had nodded, but I think it was mainly to himself.

**She held back a sob, unsure whether to believe him or not. "So **_**this**_** is why Mia hates me?"**

"**Yup. She hates you because of him. That, and because you're royal and she's insecure around all royals, which is why she worked so hard to claw up the ranks and be their friend. I think it's a coincidence that she ended up with your ex-boyfriend, but now that you're back, that probably made it worse. Between stealing him and spreading those stories about her parents, you guys really picked the best ways to make her suffer. Nice work." **

**The smallest pang of guilt lurched inside of her. "I still think you're lying."**

"**I'm a lot of things, but I'm not a liar. That's your department. And Rose's."**

"**We don't-"**

"**Exaggerate stories about people's families? Say that you hate me? Pretend to be friends with people you think are stupid? Date a guy you don't like?"**

"**I like him?"**

"**Like or **_**Like**_**?"**

"**Oh, there's a difference?"**

Jill giggled while Eddie chuckled both tried hiding it. Adrian had looked clearly amused at the question.

"**Yes. Like is when you date a big, blond moroi and laugh at his stupid jokes."**

**Then, out of nowhere, he leaned forward and kissed her. It was hot and fast and furious, an outpouring of rage and passion and longing that Christian always kept locked inside of him. Lissa had never been kissed like that, and I felt her respond to it, respond to **_**him**_**- how he made her feel so much more alive than Aaron or anyone else could. Christian pulled back from the kiss but still kept his face next to hers. **

"**That's what you do with someone you **_**like**_**." **

The two, now said couple, were staring adoringly at each other.

**Lissa's heart pounded with both anger and desire. "Well, I don't like or **_**like**_** you. And I think you and Mia are both lying about Andre. **_**Aaron**_** would never make up anything like that." **

"**That's because Aaron doesn't say anything that requires words of more than one syllable."**

**She pulled away. "Get out. Get away from me."**

**He looked around comically. "You can't throw me out. We both signed the lease."**

That cracked a few smiles amongst my friends.

"**Get. Out!" she yelled. "I hate you!"**

"No, you don't." Christian whispered.

"No, I don't." Lissa agreed. I do not think they understand the word 'whisper' because they were still pretty loud that all of us could hear them.

**He bowed. "Anything you want, Your Highness." With a final dark look, he left the attic. Lissa sank to her knees, letting out the tears she'd held back from him. I could barely make sense out of all the things hurting her. **

**God only knew things hurting her. God only knew things upset me-like the Jesse incident-but they didn't attack me in the same way. They swirled within her, beating at her brain. The stories about Andre. Mia's hate. Christian's kiss. Healing me. This, I realized, was what real depression felt like. What madness felt like. **

**Overcome, drowning in her own pain, Lissa made the only decision she could. The only thing she could do to channel all of these emotions. She opened up her purse and found the tiny razor blade she always carried…**

**Sickened, yet unable to break away, I felt as she cut her left arm, making perfectly even marks, watching as the blood flowed across her white skin. As always, she avoided veins, but her cuts were deeper this time. The cutting stung horribly, yet in doing it, she was able to focus on the physical pain, distract herself from the mental anguish so that she could feel like she was in control. **

**Drops of blood splattered onto the dusty floor, and her world began spinning. Seeing her own blood intrigued her. She had taken blood from others her entire life. Me. The feeders. Now, here it was, leaking out. With a nervous giggle, she decided it was funny. Maybe by letting it out, she was giving it back to those she'd stolen it from. Or maybe she was wasting it, wasting the sacred Dragomir blood that everyone obsessed over. **

Everyone's faces had grew darker and darker at the mention of Lissa cutting herself and actually finding it a little funny.

**I'd forced my way into her head, and now I couldn't get out. Her emotions had ensnared me now-they were too strong and too powerful. But I had to escape-I knew it with every ounce of my being. I had to stop her. She was too weak from the healing to lose this much blood. It was time to tell someone. **

**Breaking out at last, I found myself back in the clinic. Dimitri's hands were on me, gently shaking me as he said my name over and over in effort to get my attention. Dr. Olendzki stood beside him, face dark and concerned. **

**I stared at Dimitri, truly seeing how much he worried and cared about me. Christian had told me to get help, to go to someone I trusted about Lissa. I'd ignored the advice because I didn't trust anyone except her. But looking at Dimitri now, feeling that sense of understanding we shared, I knew that I did trust someone else. **

**I felt my voice crack as I spoke. "I know where she is. Lissa. We have to help her."**

"End of chapter." Abe closed the book, Eddie reached over wanting to read next. A few people said to hold on, so he did. Apparently a few had go for a bathroom break or just to stretch their legs. The whole time my parents were studying Dimitri and I. We hadn't really interacted that much since being done here, but with the book it had become more and more difficult not to ask him a question of what would happen if… whatever popped into my head.

By the looks of the book, it was almost done and I couldn't be happier, but then I glanced at the other books that were contain and safe behind the unbreakable piece shield and realized there was more that my feelings and thoughts were in and began pissed off again. Thought I was almost use to having my feelings and thoughts read aloud, I still didn't like it very much.


	21. Reading Chapter 19

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 19

_(Jill POV)_

_After _e_veryone_ got back to their seats and comfortable Eddie began reading again. I looked over at Eddie and watched him. I couldn't help but feel something for him, but I knew I liked Adrian too. I couldn't decide which was stronger, but Adrian was hotter in an way-to-old for you kind of way. While Eddie was hot, closer to my age, and seemed to be a little over protective of me, but then again the whole group here seemed to be protective of me. As Eddie opened his mouth, I listened intently.

**Chapter Nineteen. **

**It's hard to say what finally made me do it. I'd held on to so many secrets for so long, doing what I believed best protected Lissa. But hiding her cutting did nothing to protect her. I hadn't been able to make her stop- and really, I now wondered if it was my fault she'd ever started. **

"No, it wasn't Rose." Lissa told her.

**None of this had happened until she healed me in the accident. What if she'd left me injured? Maybe I would have recovered. Maybe she would be all right today. **

"No, I wouldn't have." I heard Rose mumble, looking a little sadden by that fact.

**I stayed in the clinic while Dimitri went to get Alberta. He hadn't hesitated for a second when I told him where she was. I'd said she was in danger, and he'd left immediately. **

I glance over to Guardian Belikov and Rose both were nodding along with the book. But I do not think they noticed, they both were agreeing.

**Everything after that moved like some sort of slow-motion nightmare. The minutes dragged on while I waited. When he finally returned with an unconscious Lissa, a flurry arose at the clinic, one everyone wanted me kept out of. She had lost a lot of blood, and while they had a feeder on hand right away, rousing her to enough consciousness to drink proved difficult. It wasn't until the middle of the Academy's night that someone decided she was stable enough for me to visit. **

"**Is it true?" she asked when I walked into the room. She on the bed, wrists heavily bandaged. I knew they'd put a lot of blood back into her, but she still looked pale to me. **

"**They said it was you. You told them."**

"**I had to," I said, afraid to get too close. "Liss…you cut yourself worse than you ever have. And after healing me… and then everything with Christian…you couldn't handle it. You needed help."**

**She closed her eyes. "Christian. You know about that. Of course you do. You know about everything."**

"**I'm sorry. I just wanted to help."**

"**What happened to what Ms. Karp said? About keeping it all secret?"**

"**She was talking about the other stuff. I don't think she'd want you to keep cutting yourself."**

"**Did you tell them about the 'other stuff'?"**

**I shook my head. "Not yet."**

**She turned toward me, eyes cold. "'Yet.' But you're going to."**

"**I have to. You can heal other people…but it's killing you."**

"And make you go crazy at the same time, but death is this outcome." Adrian mumbled, I looked down confused as to what he was talking about.

"**I healed **_**you**_**."**

"**I would have been okay eventually. The ankle would have healed. It's not worth what it does to you. And I think I know how it started…when you first healed me…"**

**I explained my revelation about the accident and how all of her powers and depression had started after that. I also pointed out how our bond had formed after the accident too, thought I didn't fully understand why yet. **

And it seemed they still hardly knew anything about the bond. I knew that Adrian and Lissa had wanted to start studying their powers and get more understanding and I didn't know how far they have actually gotten into that.

"**I don't know what's going on, but this is beyond us. We need someone's help."**

"**They'll take me away," she said flatly. "Like Ms. Karp."**

"**I think they'll try to help you. They were all really worried. Liss, I'm doing this for you. I just want you to be okay."**

**She turned away from me. "Get out, Rose."**

**I did. **

**They released her the next morning on the condition that she'd have to come back for daily visits to the counselor. Dimitri told me they also planned on putting her on some sort of medication to help with the depression. **

"That she is now getting off." Rose looked at Adrian, clearly pissed but mixed with worry I could tell. Adrian put his hands up in mock surrender. As pretty much everyone's been trying to do, Eddie ignored them and began reading more so it didn't turn into an argument.

**I wasn't a big fan of pills, but I'd cheer on anything that would help her. Unfortunately, some sophomore had been in the clinic for an asthma attack. He'd seen her come in with Dimitri and Alberta. He didn't know why she'd been admitted, but that hadn't stopped him from telling people in his hall what he'd seen. They then told others at breakfast. By lunch, all the upperclassmen knew about the late-night clinic visit. And more importantly, everyone knew she wasn't speaking to me. **

"How was that important?" I question, still not getting the rumors that go around high school. Rose said nothing, so Eddie read more. I hoped the answer to the question was next.

**Just like that, whatever social headway I'd made plummeted. She didn't outright condemn me, but her silence spoke legions, and people behaved accordingly. The whole day, I walked around the Academy like a ghost. People watched and occasionally spoke to me, but few made much more effort than that. They followed Lissa's lead-**

"And you keep saying they didn't worship you." Adrian grinned in Lissa direction who narrowed her eyes at him, which only made his grin bigger.

**Imitating her silence. **

Eddie continued.

**No one was openly mean to me-they probably didn't want to risk it in case she and I patched things up. Still, I heard "blood whore" whispered here and there when someone thought I wasn't listening. Mason would have welcomed me to his lunch table, but some of his friend might not have been so nice. I didn't want to be the cause of any fights between him and them. So I chose Natalie instead. **

"**I heard Lissa tried to run away again, and you stopped her," Natalie said. No one had a clue why she'd been in the clinic yet. I hoped it stayed that way. Running away? Where in the world had that come from?**

Yeah. Where did that come from?

"**Why would she do that?"**

"**I don't know." She lowered her voice. "Why'd she leave before? It's just what I heard."**

**The story raged on as the day passed, as did all sorts of rumors about why Lissa might have gone to the med clinic. Pregnancy and abortion theories were eternally popular. Some whispered she might have gotten Victor's disease. No one even came close to guessing the truth. Leaving our last class as quickly as possible, I was astonished when Mia started walking toward me. **

"**What do you want?" I demanded. "I can't come out and play today, little girl."**

"**You sure have an attitude for someone who doesn't exist right now."**

"**As opposed to you?" I asked. Remembering what Christian had said, I did feel a little sorry for her. That guilt disappeared after I took one look at her face. **

I don't like Mia, she just seemed really mean. And all because of Lissa's brother, that was almost a bitch move to take it out on his sister when she did absolutely nothing to her.

**She might have been a victim, but now she was a monster. There was a cold, cunning look about her, very different from the desperate and depressed one from the other day. She hadn't stayed beaten after what Andre had done to her-if that was even true, and I believed it was-and I doubted she would with Lissa either. Mia was a survivor. **

"**She got rid of you, and you're too high and mighty to admit it." Her blue eyes practically bugged out. "Don't you want to get back at her?"**

"**Are you psycho than usual? She's my best friend. And why are you still following me?"**

"I was mean to you and you still didn't want to get back at me?" Lissa whispered, if Rose heard, she chose to ignore the question.

**Mia **_**tsked**_**. "She doesn't act like it. Come on, tell me what happened at the clinic. It's something big, isn't it? She really is pregnant, right? Tell me what it is." **

"**Go away."**

"**If you tell me, I'll get Jesse and Ralf to say they made all that stuff up." I stopped walking and spun around to face her. Scared, she took a few steps backward. She must have recalled some of my past threats of physical violence.**

"**I already know they made it up, because I didn't **_**do**_** any of it. And if you try to turn me against Lissa one more time, the stories are going to be about **_**you**_** bleeding, because I'll have ripped your throat out!"**

Wow. Just wow.

I saw Guardian Belikov look over at Rose, giving her a look that I couldn't really tell, but her answer to whatever it was, was a shrug. The more the book progressed it had seemed Guardian Belikov and Rose had something more but I couldn't place it. I knew that Adrian probably knew about it which was why he had stopped me from questioning further about them and get the answers from the book. But it didn't stop me from wanting to question them more. Was it just Rose's simple crush on Guardian Belikov?

**My voice grew louder with each word until I practically shouted. Mia stepped back further, clearly terrified. **

"**You really are crazy. No wonder she dropped you." She shrugged. "Whatever. I'll find out what's going on without you." **

**When the dance came that weekend, I decided I really didn't want to go. It had sounded stupid to begin with, and I'd only been interested in going to the after-parties anyway. But without Lissa, I wasn't likely to gain admission to those. Instead, I holed up in my room, trying-and failing-to do some homework. Through the bond, I felt all sorts of mixed emotions from her, particularly anxiety and excitement. It had to be hard hanging out all night with a guy you didn't really like. **

**About ten minutes after the dance's start time, I decided to clean up and take a shower. When I came back down the hall from the bathroom, a towel wrapped around my head, I saw Mason standing outside my door. He wasn't exactly dressed up, but he also wasn't wearing jeans. It was a start. **

"**There you are, party girl. I was about ready to give up."**

"**Did you start another fire? No guys allowed in this hall."**

"**Whatever. Like that makes a difference." True. The school might be able to keep Strigoi out, but they did a horrible job at keeping the rest of us away from each other. "Let me in. You've got to get ready."**

It took me a moment as why he wanted her to get dressed. The dance.

**It took me a minute to realize what he meant. "No. I'm not going."**

"**Come on," he prodded, following me inside. "'Cause you had a fight with Lissa? You guys are going to make up soon. No reason for you to stay here all night. If you don't want to be around her, Eddie's getting a group together over in his room later."**

**My old, fun-loving spirit perked its head up just a bit. No Lissa. Probably no royals. "Yeah?" **

**Seeing that he was starting to get me, Mason grinned. Looking at his eyes, I realized again how much he liked me. And again I wondered, Why couldn't I just have a normal boyfriend? Why did I want my hot, older mentor-the mentor I'd probably end up getting fired?**

It was clear she had a crush on him, but Guardian Belikov was harder to figure out. Of course no one would've probably noticed without this book as they only seemed like friends. Which was hard especially since one of them had a crush on the other. Probably more awkward than anything.

"**Is it in a bottle?" **

Guardian Belikov looked over at Rose and shook his head. She bowed hers as embarrassed.

**If Lissa wanted to ignore me, I had no reason to keep myself sober. **

"**No, that's at Eddie's. Hurry up and get dressed. I know aren't wearing that,"**

**I looked down at my ripped jeans and University of Oregon T-shirt. Yeah. Definitely not wearing this. Fifteen minutes later, we cut across the quad back over to the commons, laughing as we recounted how a particularly clumsy classmate of ours had given himself a black eye in practice this week. **

I heard Eddie chuckle as if he remembered.

**Moving quickly over the frozen ground wasn't easy in heels, and he kept grabbing my arm to keep me from falling over, half-dragging me along. It made us laugh that much more. A happy feeling started to well up in me-I wasn't entirely rid of the ache for Lissa, but this was a start. **

**Maybe I didn't have her and her friends, but I had my own friends. It was also very likely that I was going to get head-over-heels drunk tonight, which, while not a great way to solve my problems, would at least be really fun. Yeah. My life could be worse. Then we ran into Dimitri and Alberta. They were on their way somewhere else, talking guardian business. Alberta smiled when she saw us, giving us the kind of indulgent look older people always give to younger people who appear to be having fun and acting silly. Like she thought we were cute. The nerve. **

I couldn't help it, I started giggling. Rose looked at me with this exasperated look and thought it took me a moment but I was able to stop.

**We stumbled to a halt, and Mason put a hand on my arm to steady me. **

"**Mr. Ashford, Miss Hathaway. I'm surprised you aren't already in the commons."**

**Mason gave her an angelic, teacher's-pet smile. "Got delayed, Guardian Petrov. You know how it is with girls. Always got to look perfect. You especially must know all about that."**

"I am going to guess that you wanted to hit him." Eddie said, looking up at Rose who nods in agreement.

**Normally I would have elbowed him for saying something so stupid, but I was staring at Dimitri and incapable of speech. Perhaps more importantly, he was staring at me too. I had on the black dress, and it was everything I'd hoped it could be. In fact, it was a wonder Alberta didn't call me on the dress code right there and then. **

"She wanted to, but she mentioned that she wanted you to have a fun night without trouble." Guardian Belikov told Rose.

"What good that did, comrade."

**The fabric clung everywhere, and no Moroi girl's chest could have held this dress up. Victor's rose hung around my neck, and I'd done a hasty blow-dry of my hair, leaving it down the way I knew Dimitri liked it. I hadn't worn tights because no one wore tights with dresses like this anymore, so my feet were freezing in the heels. All for the sake of looking good. **

**And I was pretty sure I looked damn good, but Dimitri face wasn't giving anything away. He just looked at me-and looked and looked. **

That would've slightly freaked me out if someone just stared at me and not said anything _at all_.

**Maybe that said something about my appearance in and of itself. Remembering how Mason sort of held my hand, I pulled away from him. He and Alberta finished up their joking remarks, and we all went our separate ways. Music blasted inside the commons when we arrived, white Christmas lights and-ugh- a disco ball casting the only light in the otherwise darkened room. Gyrating bodies, mostly underclassmen, packed the dance floor. Those who were our age stood in too-cool clusters along the edges of the room, waiting for an opportune time to sneak off. An assortment of chaperones, guardians and Moroi teachers alike, patrolled around, breaking up those dancers who did a little too much gyrating. **

**When I saw Kirova in a sleeveless plaid dress, I turned to Mason and said, "Are you sure we can't hit the hard liquor yet?"**

**He snickered and took my hand again. "Come on, time for your surprise."**

**Letting him lead me, I walked across the room, cutting through a cluster of freshman who looked way too young to be doing the kind of pelvic thrusts-**

Adrian chuckled, covering his mouth slightly almost making seemed like he just coughed.

**They were attempting. Where were the chaperones when you needed them? Then I saw where he was leading me and came to a screeching halt. **

"**No," I said, not budging when he tugged my hand. **

"Where was he taking you?"

"You'll see." She answered me.

"**Come on, it's going to be great." **

"**You're taking me to Jesse and Ralf. **

Oh.

**The only way I can **_**ever**_** be seen with them is if I've got a blunt object, and I'm aiming between their legs."**

**He pulled me again. "Not anymore. Come on."**

**Reluctant, I finally started moving: my worst fears were realized when a few pairs eyes turned our way. Great. Everything was starting all over again. Jesse and Ralf didn't notice us at first, but when they did, an amusing array of expressions played over their faces. First they saw my body and the dress. Testosterone took over as pure male lust shone out of their faces. Then they seemed to realize it was me and promptly turned terrified. Cool. **

I had to force a laugh down at the way Eddie had said 'cool.' He sounded amused, like Rose was in the book, with a smile on his lips and he nodded his head.

**Mason gave Jesse a sharp poke in the chest with the end of his finger. "All right, Zelkovs. Tell her."**

**Jesse didn't say anything, and Mason repeated the gesture, only harder. **

"**Tell her."**

**Not meeting my eyes, Jesse mumbled, "Rose, we know none of that stuff happened."**

I snorted. Duh, it was her body you apparently bit and had sex with.

**I almost chocked on my own laughter. "**_**Do**_** you? Wow. I'm really glad to hear that. Because you see, until you said that, I'd been thinking it **_**had**_** happened. Thank God you guys are here to set me straight and tell me what the hell I have or haven't done!" **

**They flinched, and Mason's light expression darkened to something harder. **

"**She knows that," he growled. "Tell her the rest."**

**Jesse sighed. "We did it because Mia told us to."**

"**And?" prompted Mason. **

"**And we're sorry."**

**Mason turned to Ralf. "I want to hear it from you, big boy."**

**Ralf wouldn't meet my eyes either, but he mumbled something that sounded vaguely like an apology. Seeing them defeated, Mason turned chipper. "You haven't heard the best part yet." **

There is more?

**I cut him a sidelong look. "Yeah? Like the part where we rewind time and none of this ever happened?"**

"**Next best thing." He tapped Jesse again. "Tell her. Tell her **_**why**_** you did it."**

**Jesse looked up and exchanged uneasy looks with Ralf. **

"**Boys," warned Mason, clearly delighted about something, "you're making Hathaway and me very angry. Tell her why you did it."**

**Wearing the look of one who realized things couldn't get any worse, Jesse finally met my eyes. "We did it because she slept with us. Both of us."**

"Whoa. Didn't see that coming." I mumbled, as Adrian reached over and took the book. Reading this has gotten me on some insight of this group of friends. Not by much because Eddie is hardly in the book, Adrian wasn't in it at all, and Christian seemed like a total jerk.


	22. Reading Chapter 20

**Disclaimer: I do not Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 20

_Before Adrian_ started reading, the slot where our food opened. Passing out the blood and regular food, Adrian hurried and ate, before starting to read. Clearly wanting to know what happens.

**Chapter Twenty. **

**My mouth dropped open. "Uh…wait…you mean **_**sex**_**?"**

**My astonishment prevented me from thinking of a better response. Mason thought it was hysterical. Jesse looked like he wanted to die. **

"**Of course I mean sex. She said she'd do it if we said that we'd…you know…"**

**I made a face. "You guys didn't both, uh, do it at the same time, did you?"**

"**No," said Jesse in disgust. Ralf kind of looked like he wouldn't have minded. **

"Pervert." Lissa mumbled, looking equally as disgusted as Jesse did when I had mentioned it.

"**God," I muttered, pushing hair out of my face. "I can't believe she hates us that much."**

"**Hey," exclaimed Jesse, reading into my insinuation. "What's that supposed to mean? We're not that bad. And you and me-were pretty close to-"**

"Oh. But you are that bad." I told the book. Lissa and Jill started giggling, my parents looked at me with this emotion I couldn't decipher.

"What? Mia told me. A from what Jesse had done when we were alone… Yeah." I shivered, Adrian started chuckling, before getting a glare from my parents he read on.

"**No. We weren't **_**even**_** close to that." Mason laughed again, and something struck me. "If this…is this happened back then, though…she must have still been dating Aaron." **

"God," Jill said. "That's gross." We all nod, well the teenagers all nod Adrian liked impassive and said.

"Those are the types of girls you want to party with." I almost groaned and I wanted to bang my head on the floor. "Not that I do that. But at the same time it is true."

**All three guys nodded. **

"**Oh. Whoa." Mia **_**really **_**hated us. She'd just moved beyond poor-girl-wronged-by-girl's-brother and well into sociopath territory. She'd spelt with these two and cheated on a boyfriend whom she seemed to adore. **

"Apparently not enough." Jill commented.

**Jesse and Ralf looked incredibly relieved when we walked away. Mason slung a lazy arm around my shoulders. "Well? What do you think? I rule, right? You can tell me. I won't mind." **

**I laughed. "How'd you finally find that out?"**

"**I called in a lot of favors. Used some threats. The fact that Mia can't retaliate helped too."**

**I recalled Mia accosting me the other day. I didn't think she was entirely helpless yet but didn't say so. **

"**They'll start telling people on Monday," he continued. "They promised. Everyone'll know by lunch."**

"**Why not now?" I asked sulkily. "They slept with a girl. Hurts her more than them."**

"**Yeah. True. They didn't want to deal with it tonight. You could start telling people if you wanted to. We could make a banner." **

**With as many times as Mia had called me a slut and a whore? Not a bad idea. **

"'Course it's not." Lissa commented, smiling at me. I smiled back while Adrian nods his agreement.

"**You got any markers and paper?..." My words trailed off as I stared across the gym to where Lissa stood surrounded by admirers, Aaron's arm around her waist. She wore a sleek pink cotton sheath in a shade I never could have pulled off. Her blond hair had been pulled up in a bun that she'd used little crystal hairpins on. It almost looked like she wore a crown. Princess Vasilisa. **

Lissa looked down, blushing slightly.

**The same feelings as earlier hummed through to me, anxiety and excitement. She just couldn't quite enjoy herself tonight. **

**Watching her from the other side of the room, lurking in the darkness, was Christian. **

"Yeah. Because that is not creepy at all!" Jill exclaimed looking at Christian who shrugs.

**He practically blended into shadows. **

"**Stop it," Mason chided me, seeing my stare. "Don't worry about her tonight." **

"It was hard not to." I mumbled.

"**Hard not to." **

"Well at least we know you still think that way." Adrian told me.

"**It makes you look all depressed. And you're too hot in that dress to look depressed. Come on, there's Eddie." He dragged me away, but not before I cast one last glance at Lissa over my shoulder. Our eyes met briefly. Regret flashed through the bond. But I pushed her out of my head-figuratively speaking-and managed to put on a good face when we joined a group of other novices. We earned a lot of mileage by telling them about the Mia scandal and, petty or not, seeing my cleared and getting revenge on her felt amazingly good. And as those in our group wandered off and mingled with others, I could see the news spreading and spreading. So much for waiting until Monday. **

**Whatever. I didn't care. I was actually having a good time. I fell into my old role, happy to see I hadn't grown too dusty in making funny and flirty remarks. Yet, as time passed and Eddie's party grew closer, I started to feel Lissa's anxiety pick up in intensity. Frowning, I stopped talking and turned around, scanning the room for her. **

**There. She was still with a group or people, still the sun in her little solar system. **

I hear Lissa take a deep breath then let it go, and sagged her body. Giving up that she wasn't what Christian and I have told her about being the center of attention and having people bow down to her.

**But Aaron was leaning very close to her, saying something in her ear. A smile I recognized as fake was plastered across her face, and the annoyance and anxiety from her increased further. Then it spiked. Mia had walked up to them. **

"Oooooo. I sense a cat fight." Adrian said bring the book closer to his face, totally interested.

**Whatever she'd come to say, she didn't waste any time in saying it. With the eyes of Lissa's admirers on her, little Mia in her red dress gestured wildly, mouth working animatedly. I couldn't hear the words from across then room, but the feelings grew darker and darker through the bond. **

"**I've got to go," I told Mason. **

**I half walked, half ran over to Lissa's side, catching only the tail end of Mia's tirade. She was yelling at Lissa full force now and leaning into her face. From what I could tell, word must have reached her about Jesse and Ralf selling her out. **

"**-you and your slutty friend! I'm going to tell everyone what a psycho you are and how they had to lock you in the clinic because you're so crazy. They're putting you on medication. That's why you and Rose left before anyone else could find out you cut-"**

**Whoa, not good. Just like at our first meeting in the cafeteria, I grabbed her and jerked her away. **

"**Hey," I said. "Slutty friend here. Remember what I said about standing too close to her?"**

"Oh. Rose." I heard Dimitri mumbled, shaking his head slightly. Adrian sounded completely amused, cracking a smile. Everyone who was there looked bored because they heard it before. Jill looked interested, slightly as to what was going to happen. I immediately wondered why she hadn't heard.

**Mia snarled, baring her fangs. As I'd noted before, I couldn't feel too sorry for her anymore. She was dangerous. She had stooped low to get back at me. Now, somehow, she knew about Lissa and the cutting. **_**Really**_** knew, too; she wasn't just guessing. The information she had now sounded both like what the guardians on the scene had reported, as well as what I'd told them about Lissa's history. Maybe some confidential doctor's stuff too. Mia'd snagged the records somehow. **

**Lissa realized it too, and the look on her face- scared and fragile, no more princss-made my decision for me. It didn't matter that Kirova had spoken the other day about giving me my freedom, that I'd been having a good time, and that I could have let my worries go and partied tonight. I was going to ruin everything, right here and right now. I'm really not good with impulse control. **

"Let me guess. You punched her." Jill stated. A few people in the room nods and Adrian reads.

**I punched Mia as hard as I could-harder, I think, than I'd even hit Jesse. I heard a crunch as my fist impacted her nose, and blood spurted out. Someone screamed. Mia shrieked and flew backwards into some squealing girls who didn't want to get blood on their dresses. I swooped in after her, getting in one more good punch before somebody peeled me off her. **

**I didn't fight restraint as I had when they'd taken me from Mr. Nagy's classroom. I expected this as soon as I swung at her. Stopping all sings of resistance, I let two guardians lead me out of the dance while Ms. Kirova tried to bring some semblance of order. I didn't care what they did to me. Not anymore. Punish or expel. Whatever. I could handle-**

**Ahead of us, through the ebbing and flowing eaves of students passing through the double doors, I saw a figure in pink dart out. Lissa. My own out-of-control emotions had overridden hers, but there they were, flooding back into me. Devastation. Despair. Everyone knew her secret now. She'd face more than just idle speculation. Pieces would fall together. She couldn't handle that. **

**Knowing I wasn't going anywhere, I frantically searched for some way to help her. A dark figure caught my eye. "Christian!" I yelled. He'd been staring at Lissa's retreating figure but glanced up at the sound of his name. **

**One of my escorts shushed my and took my arm. "Be quiet."**

**I ignored her. "Go after her," I called to Christian. "Hurry."**

**He just sat there, and I suppressed a groan. **

"Nice, idiot." Adrian looked straight at Christian who glared.

"**Go, you idiot!" **

"Oh, hey. Look Rose called you the same thing." He said amused.

**My guardians snapped at me to be quiet again, but something inside of Christian woke up. Springing up from his lounging position, he tore off in the direction Lissa had traveled. No one wanted to deal with me that night. There'd be hell pay tomorrow-I heard talk of suspension or possibly even expulsion-but Kirova had her hands full with a bleeding Mia and a hysterical student body. The guardians escorted me to my room under the watchful eye of the dorm matron who informed me she'd check on me every hour to make sure I stayed in my room. A couple guardians would also hang out around the dorm's entrances. **

**Apparently I was now a high security risk. I'd probably just ruined Eddie's party; he'd never sneak a group up to his room now. **

"I wasn't, but watching the girls freak out over the spill of blood. Especially since most of them drunk it was more fun and funnier than any party. That could happen that night." Eddie said with a shrug.

**Heedless of my dress, I flounced onto the floor of my room, crossing my legs underneath me. I reached out to Lissa. She was calmer now. The events from the dance still hurt her terribly, but Christian was soothing her somehow, although whether it was through simple words or physical mojo, I couldn't say. I didn't care. So long as she felt better and wouldn't do anything stupid. I returned to myself. **

**Yes, things were going to get messy now. Mia and Jesse's respective accusations were going to set the school on fire. I probably would get thrown out and have to go live with a bunch of skanky Dhampir women. At least Lissa might realize Aaron was boring and that she wanted to be with Christian. But even if that was the right thing, it still meant-**

"Still meant what?" Jill questioned as an answer Adrian continued.

**Christian. Christian. **

"What about Christian?"

"Jailbait. If you would let me finish, you would've known by now." Looking sheepish she nods.

**Christian was hurt. **

**I snapped back into Lissa's body, suddenly sucked in by the terror pounding through her. She was surrounded, surrounded by men and women who had come out of nowhere, bursting up into the attic of chapel where she and Christian had gone to talk. Christian leapt up, fire flaring from his fingers. Once of the invaders hit him on the head with something hard, making his body slump to the ground. **

As to remember the pain, Christian rubbed his head, where he was hit. Grimacing slightly.

**I desperately hoped he was okay, but I couldn't waste any more energy worrying about him. **

"Gee. Thanks."

**All my fear was for Lissa now. I couldn't let the same thing happen to her. I couldn't let them hurt her. I needed to save her, to get her out of there. But I didn't know how. She was too far away, and I couldn't even escape her head at the moment, let alone run over there or get help. **

**The attackers approached her, calling her Princess and telling her not to worry, and that they were guardians. And they **_**did **_**seem like guardians. Definitely Dhampirs. Moving in precise, efficient ways. But I didn't recognize them as any of the guardians from school. Neither did Lissa. Guardians wouldn't have attacked Christian. And guardians certainly wouldn't be binding her and gagging her-**

**Something forced me out of her head, and I frowned, staring around my room. I needed to go back to her and find out what had happened. Usually the connection just faded or I closed off, but this-this was like something had actually removed me and pulled me. Pulled me back here. **

**But that made no sense. What could pull me back from…wait. **

**My mind blanked. **

**I couldn't remember what I'd just been thinking about. It was gone. Like static in my brain. Where had I been? With Lissa? What about Lissa?**

"Was it the charm making that happen?" Lissa asked, looking slightly confused. Swallowing I nod. I was slightly alarmed at finding out, that the lust charm 'scene' was close and was most defiantly in the book. Glancing at Dimitri he had seemed alarmed as well.

**Standing up, I wrapped my arms around myself, confused, trying to figure out what was going on. Lissa. Something with Lissa. **

_**Dimitri**_**, a voice inside my head suddenly said. **_**Go to Dimitri. **_

**Yes. Dimitri. My body and spirit burned for him all of a sudden, and I wanted to be with him more than I ever had before. I couldn't stay away from him. He'd know what to do. And he'd told me before I should come to him if something was wrong with Lissa. Too bad I couldn't remember what that was. Still. I knew he'd take care of everything. **

**Getting up to the staff wing of the dorm wasn't hard, since they wanted to keep me inside tonight. I didn't know where his was, but it didn't matter. **_**Something**_** was pulling me to him, urging me closer. **

Adrian glanced up when Dimitri turned his head to me. "I was wondering how you found my room." Adrian looked back down and read more.

**An instinct pushed me toward one of the doors, and I beat the living daylights out of it. After a few moments, he opened it, brown eyes widening when he saw me. **

"**Rose?"**

"**Let me in. It's Lissa." **

**He immediately stepped aside for me. I'd apparently caught him in bed, because the covers were peeled back on one side and only a small tableside lamp shone in the darkness. **

"Can we stop?" I ask, running my hands through my hair. Everyone looked at me.

"Why Little Dhampir… it's just the attack charm," He must've saw something on my face or aura because he marked the page, closing the book and raised an eyebrow at me. "It was the _attack_ charm right?"

I looked at the ground, starting with my fingers. "Itwasalustcharm." I said it so fast, that confusion showed on everyone's face-well except Dimitri's who knew what I had just said. Dimitri spoke up.

"It wasn't an attack charm… but a lust charm." It went quiet for a moment.

"So you lied?" Lissa questioned. I nod, looking at Dimitri.

"It explains in the book… I think, everything else seems to be in there, so why not the reasoning."

"Does this stay PG or at least PG-13, Little Dhampir?"

I narrowed my eyes at Adrian. "Yes. If it didn't, Lissa wouldn't be here at this moment." He nods, opening the book without a care in the world that this could be embarrassing not only to me but Dimitri too. I dare myself to look at my parents, who seemed to be hiding their rage, but not very well.

**Plus, he wore only cotton pajama bottoms; his chest-which I'd never seen before, and wow, did it look great-**

"And that made me sound gay." Adrian mumbled, mostly to himself.

**Was bare. The ends of his dark hair curled near his chin and appeared damp, like he'd taken a shower not so long ago. **

"**What's wrong?"**

**The sound of his voice thrilled me, and I couldn't answer. I couldn't stop staring at him. The force that had pulled me up here pulled me to him. I wanted him to touch me so badly, so badly I could barely stand it. **

Adrian sounded a little awkward and shifted his body a little to show the awkwardness.

**He was so amazing. So unbelievably gorgeous. I knew somewhere something was wrong, but it didn't seem important. Not when I was with him. With almost a foot separating us, there was no way I could easily kiss his lips without his help. So instead, I aimed for his chest, wanting to taste that warm, smooth skin. **

"Okay. Okay. This is weird." Adrian said, closing the book. Jill took it, smiling a little mischievously at me. I narrowed my eyes at her, but her smile grew she opened the book back up and read along. No matter how uncomfortable my parents, Adrian, Eddie, Christian, Dimitri, and I felt at this moment in time.

"**Rose!" he exclaimed, stepping back. "What are you doing?"**

"**What do you think?"**

**I moved toward him again, needing to touch him and kiss him and do so many other things. **

"**Are you drunk?"**

"Nice question." Christian looked a little disturbed at the book.

**He asked, holding his hand out in a warning gesture. **

"**Don't I wish." I tried to dodge around him, then paused, momentarily uncertain. "I thought you wanted to- don't you think I'm pretty?" **

"A very dangerous question." Adrian pointed out.

**In all the time we'd known each other, in all the time this attraction had built, he'd never told me I was pretty. **

"He is your mentor, he shouldn't." Mom directed the words to me, but was glaring at Dimitri.

**He'd hinted at it, but that wasn't the same. And despite all the assurances I had from other guys that I was hotness incarnate, I needed to hear it from the one guy I actually wanted. **

"**Rose, I don't know what's going on, but you need to go back to your room."**

**When I moved towards him again, he reached out and gripped my wrists. With that touch, an electric current shot through both us of, and I saw him forget whatever he'd just been worrying about. Soemthing seized him too, something that made him suddenly want me as much I wanted him. Releasing my wrists, he moved his hands up my arms, sliding slowly along my skin. Holding me in his dark, hungry gaze, he pulled me to him, pressing me right up to his body. One of his hands moved up the back of my neck, twining his fingers in my hair and tipping my face up to his. He brought his lips down, barely brushing them against mine. **

**Swallowing, I asked again, "Do you think I'm pretty?"**

**He regarded me with utter seriousness, like he always did. "I think you're beautiful."**

"**Beautiful?"**

"Aw!" Lissa exclaimed.

"**You are so beautiful, it hurts me sometimes."**

"Awe!" Lissa and Jill said at the exact same time. I face palmed, and dragged my hand down my face.

"You do realize that if that or this," motioning to the book. "got out. He could be fired right?" They both seemed to pout, and Jill read more of the book.

**His lips moved to mine, gentle at first, and then hard and hungry. His kiss consumed me. His hands on my arms slid down, down my hips, down to the edge of my dress. He gathered up the fabric in his hands and began pushing it up my legs. I melted into that touch, into his kiss and the way it burned against my mouth. His hands kept sliding up and up, until he'd pulled the dress over my head and tossed it on the floor. **

"**You…you got rid of that dress fast," I pointed out between heavy breaths. "I thought you liked it."**

"**I do like it," he said. His breathing was as heavy as mine. "I love it."**

**And then he took me to the bed. **

"Guardian Belikov!" My parents yelled.


	23. Reading Chapter 21

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 21

_Though I _had just said that it stays PG-13 I think they still do not like the fact that well…

There was nothing he could really do, we were both under the charm and it was hard to fight it. All they did was yell his name, but they looked like they very much wanted to beat the crap out of him for doing something he wasn't in control over.

Jill quickly flipped the page.

**Chapter Twenty-one.**

**I'd never been completely naked around a guy before. It scared the hell out of me-even though it excited me, too. Lying on the covers, we clung to each other and kept kissing-and kissing and kissing and kissing. His hands and lips took possession of my body, and every touch was like fire. **

Eddie, Adrian, and Christian were acting like children and covered their ears, like it would help them not hear anything. Mom and Abe were glaring at Dimitri. While Dimitri and I looked anywhere else but each other and our friends. Jill and Lissa sounded a little _too_ interested in what would happen. Thought Lissa was technically in danger at that very moment.

**I liked the way he would say my name in Russian, murmured like a prayer: **_**Roza, Roza**_**…**

**And somewhere, somewhere in all of this, was the same urging voice that had driven me up to his room, a voice that didn't sound like my own but that I was powerless to ignore. **

_**Stay with him, stay with him. Don't think about anything else except him. Keep touching him. Forget about everything else. **_

**I listened-not that I really needed any extra convincing. The burning in his eyes told he wanted to do a lot more then we were, but he took things slow, maybe because he knew I was nervous. His pajama pants stayed on. At one point, I shifted so that I hovered over him, my hair hanging around him. He tilted his head slightly, and I just barely caught sight of the beck of his neck. I brushed my fingertips over the six tiny marks tattooed there. **

"**Did you really kill six Strigoi?" he nodded. "Wow."**

"I like how you stop in the middle of everything and randomly start talking about Strigoi." Christian sarcastically said.

**He brought my own neck down to his mouth and kissed me. His teeth gently grazed my skin, different from a vampire but every bit as thrilling. "Don't worry. You'll have a lot more than me someday."**

"**Do you feel guilty about it?"**

"**Hmm?"**

"**Killing them. You said in the van that it was the right thing to do, but it still bothers you. It's why you go to church, isn't it? I see you there, but you aren't really into the services." **

**He smiled, surprised and amused I'd guessed another secret about him. **

I see Dimitri nod, as this was a slightly safer topic at the moment and he wasn't getting glared at intensity as he was moments ago.

"**How do you know these things? I'm not guilty exactly…just sad sometimes. All of them used to be human or Dhampir or Moroi. It's a waste, that's all, but as I said before, it's something I have to do. Something we all have to do. Sometimes it bothers me, and the chapel is a good place to think about those kinds of things. Sometimes I find peace there, but not often. I find more peace with you."**

I smile at hearing that again. As the two 'romantic' friends awed once again.

**He rolled me off of him and moved on top of me again. The kissing picked up once more, harder this time. More urgent. **_**Oh God, **_**I thought. **_**I'm finally going to do it. This is it. I can feel it. **_

"It better not be." The old man growled.

"Old man, I _just_ said that it stays PG-13. Give it a moment." The only reason I gave a heads up was because I didn't want my parents killing Dimitri but seeing this now? I do not think it worked, telling and not telling, they still very much wanted to hurt Dimitri.

**He must have seen the decision in my eyes. Smiling, he slid his hands behind my neck and unfastened Victor's necklace. He set it on the bedside table. As soon as the chain left his fingers, I felt like I'd been slapped in the face. I blinked in surprise. **

**Dimitri must have felt the same way. "What happened?" he asked. **

"**I-I don't know." I felt like I was trying to wake up, I'd been asleep for two days. I needed to remember something. Lissa. Something with Lissa. My head felt funny. Not pain or dizziness, but…the voice, I realized. The voice urging me toward Dimitri was gone. That wasn't to say I didn't want him anymore because hey, seeing him there in those sexy pajama bottoms, with that brown hair spilling over the side of face was pretty fine. But I no longer had that outside influence pushing me to him. Weird. **

**He frowned, no longer turned on. After several moments of thought, he reached over and picked up the necklace. The instant his fingers touched it, I saw desire sweep over him again. He slid his other hand onto my hip, and suddenly, that burning lust slammed back into me. My stomach went queasy while my skin started to prickle and grow warm again. My breathing because heavy. His lips moved toward mine again. Some inner part of my fought through. **

"**Lissa," I whispered, squeezing my eyes shut. "I have to tell you something about Lissa. But I can't…remember…I feel so strange…"**

"I like how it seems like their fixing to have sex, but still worry about Lissa." Adrian mumbled, raising an eyebrow at me.

"If I had a pillow right now or something I could throw at you, I would."

"**I know," Still holding onto me, he rested his cheek against me forehead. "There's something…something here…" he pulled his face away, and I opened my eyes. "This necklace. That's the one Prince Victor gave you?"**

**I nodded and could see the sluggish thought process trying to wake up behind his eyes. Taking a deep breath, he removed his hand from my hip and pushed himself away. **

"**What are you doing?" I exclaimed. "Come back…"**

**He looked like he want to-very badly-**

I saw Dimitri give a tight nod in agreement, I knew I only caught.

**but instead he climbed out of the bed. He and the necklace moved away from me. I felt like he'd ripped part of me away, but at the same time, I had that startling sensation of waking up, like I could think clearly once more without my body making all the decisions. **

**On the other hand, Dimitri still wore a look of animal passion on him, and it seemed to take a great deal of effort for him to walk across the room. He reached the window and managed to open it one-handed. Cold air blasted in, and I rubbed my hands over my arms for warmth. **

"**What are you going to-?" The answer hit me, and I sprang out of bed, just as the necklace flew out the window. **

"**No! Do you know how much that must have-?"**

**The necklace disappeared, and I now longer felt like I was **_**waking**_** up. I **_**was**_** awake. Painfully, startlingly so. I took in my surroundings. Dimitri's room. Me naked. The rumpled bed. But all that was nothing compared to what hit me next. **

"**Lissa!" I gasped out. **

"Okay. Seems like that's over. Here." Jill handed it over to Christian who looked strangly at her before reading where she left off.

**It all came back, the memories and the emotions. And, in fact, her held-back emotions suddenly poured into me-at staggering levels. More terror. Intense terror. Those feelings wanted to suck me back to her body, but I couldn't let them. Not quite yet. I fought against her, needing to stay here. With the words coming out in a rush, I told Dimitri everything that had happened. **

**He was in motion before I finished, putting on clothes and looking every bit like a badass god. Ordering me to get dressed, he tossed me a sweatshirt with Cyrillic writing on it to wear over the skimpy dress. I had a hard time following him downstairs; he made no effort to slow for me this time. Calls were made when we got there. Orders shouted. Before long, I ended up in the guardians' main office with him. Kirova and other teachers were there. Most of the campus's guardians. Everyone seemed to speak to once. All the while, I felt Lissa's fear, felt her moving farther and farther away. **

**I yelled at them to hurry up and do something, but no one except Dimitri would believe my story about her abduction until someone retrieved Christian from the chapel and then verified Lissa really wasn't on campus. Christian staggered in, supported by two guardians. Dr. Olendzki appeared shortly thereafter, checking him out and wiping blood away from the back of his head. Finally, I thought, something would happen. **

"**How many Strigoi were there?" one of the guardians asked me. **

"None."

"**How in the world did they get in?" muttered someone else. **

"They didn't because there weren't any."

**I stared. "Wh-? There weren't any Strigoi."**

**Several sets of eyes stared at me. "Who else would have taken her?"**

"Guardians."

**Asked Ms. Kirova primly. "You must have seen it wrong through the…vision."**

"**No. I'm positive. It was…they were…guardians."**

"**She's right," mumbled Christian, still under the doctor's ministrations. He winced as she did something to the back of his head. "Guardians." **

"**That's impossible," someone said.**

"Apparently not." 

"**They weren't school guardians." I rubbed my forehead, fighting hard to keep from leaving the conversation and going back to Lissa. My irritation grew. "Will you guys get moving? She's getting farther away!" **

"**You're saying a group of privately retained guardians came in and kidnapped her?" **

I opened my mouth to say something else, but my mom beat me to it.

"Rose, being quiet. We will find out from the book."

**The tone in Kirova's voice implied I was playing some kind of joke. **

"**Yes," I replied through gritted teeth. "They…"**

**Slowly, carefully, I slipped my mental restraint and flew into Lissa's body. I sat in a car, an expensive car with tinted windows to keep out most of the light. It might be "night" here, but it was full day for the rest of the world. One of the guardians from the chapel drove; another sat beside him in the front-one I recognized. Spiridon. In the back, Lissa sat with tired hands, another guardian beside her, and on the other side- **

"**They work for Victor Dashkov," I gasped out, focusing back on Kirova and the others. "They're his." **

"**Prince Victor Dashkov?" asked one of the guardians with a snort. Like there was any other freaking Victor Dashkov. **

"**Please," I moaned, hands clutching my head. "DO something. They're getting so far away. They're on…" A brief image, seen outside the car window, flared in my vision. "Eighty-three. Headed south."**

"**Eighty-three already? How long ago did they leave? Why didn't you come sooner?" **

**My eyes turned anxiously to Dimitri. **

"**A compulsion spell," he said slowly. "A compulsion spell put into a necklace he gave her. It made her attack me."**

"Oh. Yeah. She _attacked_ you alright." Adrian wiggled his eyebrows at Dimitri and I when he said the word attacked.

"**No one can use that kind of compulsion," exclaimed Kirova. "No one's done that in ages."**

"**Well, someone did. By the time I'd restrained her and taken the necklace, a lot of time had passed," Dimitri continued, face perfectly controlled. No one questioned the story. Finally, finally, the group moved into action. **

**No one wanted to bring me, but Dimitri insisted when he realized I could lead them to her. Three details of the guardians set out in sinister black SUVs. I rode in the first one, sitting in the passenger seat while Dimitri drove. Minutes passed. The only times we spoke was when I gave a report. **

"**They're still on Eighty-three… but their turn is coming. They aren't speeding. They don't want to get pulled over." He nodded, not looking at me. He was definitely **_**was**_** speeding. Giving him a sidelong glance, I replayed tonight's earlier events. In my mind's eye, I could see it all again, the way he'd looked at me and kissed me. **

**But what had it been? An illusion? A trick? On the way to the car, he'd told me there really had been a compulsion spell in the necklace, a lust one. I had never heard of such a thing, but when I'd asked for more information, he just said it was a type of magic earth users once practiced but never did anymore.**

"**They're turning," I said suddenly. "I can't see the road name, but I'll know when we're close."**

**Dimitri grunted in acknowledgement, and I sank further into my seat. What had it all meant? **

At the moment where Christian had read out loud that it meant something to me. I could tell that Dimitri wanted to touch me or let me know it did mean something to him. I could tell by the way he shifted his weight a little closer to me.

**We drove on in silence, the only sound coming from the crunching of the gravel under the tires. Dust kicked up outside the windows, swirling around us. **

"**They're turning again." Farther and farther off the main routes they went, and we followed the whole time, led by my instructions. Finally, I felt Victor's car come to a stop. **

"**They're outside a small cabin," I said. "They're taking her-"**

"**Why are you doing this? What's going on?" Lissa. Cringing and scared. Her feelings had pulled me into her. **

"**Come, child," said Victor, moving into the cabin, unsteady on his cane. One of his guardians held the door open. Another pushed Lissa along and settled her into a chair near a small table inside. It was cold in here, especially in the pink dress. Victor sat across from her. When she started to get up, a guardian gave her a warning look. "Do you think I'd seriously hurt you?"**

"**What did you do to Christian?" she cried, ignoring the question. "Is he dead?"**

"Nope." Christian smiled down at Lissa and pulled her closer to him.

"**The Ozera boy? I didn't mean for that to happen. We didn't expect him to be there. We'd hoped to catch you alone, to convince others you'd run away again. We'd made sure rumors already circulated about that."**

_**We?**_** I recalled how the stories had resurfaced this week… from Natalie. **

"What happened to her?" Jill questioned.

"You'll find out." I said mysteriously.

"**Now?" He sighed, spreading his hands wide in a helpless gesture. "I don't know. I doubt anyone will connect it to us, even if they don't believe you ran away. Rose is the biggest liability. We'd intended to…dispatch her, letting others think she'd run away as well. The spectacle she created at your dance made that impossible, but I had another plan in place to make sure she stays occupied for some time…probably until tomorrow. We will have to contend with her later."**

**He hadn't counted on Dimitri figuring out the spell. He'd figured we'd be too busy getting in on all night. **

"**Why?" asked Lissa. "Why are you doing all this?"**

**His green eyes widened, reminding her of her father's. They might be distant relatives, but that jade-green color ran in both the Dragomirs and Dashkovs. "I'm surprised you even have to ask, my dear. I need you. I need you to heal me." **

"End of chapter." Christian said looking around the room. Then tossing me the book. Well guess I am reading the next chapter.


	24. Family Talk

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Family Talk

"_Rose can_ we talk to you before we continue?" It was asked as a question but I could hear the underline 'we're going to talk to you now'. Everyone seemed to get what my parents walked and got up. Lissa gave me a 'don't fight' type look along with an encouraging. The old man, shut the door between the two rooms.

They were both standing, pacing the room, almost as if they could not believe that they were going to have this talk. On the other hand, any talk, so I patiently waited for something to give me a hint at what they were going to talk to me about. My so-called 'crush' on Dimitri or about not telling me who my father was and why he stayed away or even if they were ever going to tell me about the old man. Before I start anything, yeah this is totally unlike me.

"Rosemarie."

"It's Rose." I told my mother, crossing my arms over my chest. She had turned to me after a few moments. Abe was standing the background, for the first time for looking smug. She gave a sigh and looked at Abe almost as if she needed encouragement to talk to me. I know our relationship had been trying to get better since Spokane but it was not fully there.

"When I found out I was pregnant," thank god it was this talk. However, I was not thrilled about this talk, but I will take this before they talk about Dimitri and I. "When I found out I was pregnant." She began again.

"It was true we-I- wasn't ready. Ibrahim job was…" This was the first time I have seen her stop to try and think about what she was going to say. We were alike in the way we say what we thought. However, I just said it, mom held back most of the time.

"Dangerous for a family." He continued. "I already had enemies and if they ever found out about your mother, even you. They could've used you two against me."

They stopped and looked at me. I had no idea what to say, so I stayed quiet. I tried to grasp what they were trying to tell me. But everything I'd did or will do was dangerous. And for once, I didn't fight or try to start something.

"Okay."

"Okay?" They said at the same time.

"Yeah. So can we stop with the whole not acting like ourselves thing?"

Abe chuckled and I think my mom actually smiled, but they quickly became serious and I knew what it was about this time.

"Now… You and Dimitri." I groaned and leaned back in the chair.

"Can we finish the book before you give me that talk? I mean, maybe all the answers to your questions and whatever your worried."

They looked skeptical. There was a pregnant pause. They were both looking at me like a science project they could not figure out. Then unexpectedly, Abe asked.

"Do you love him?" Mom whipped around to face him. I stared at him, shocked but quickly covered it. The answer was in the book. Which they would find out, if I do or not. Abe seemed to find the answer in my face, nodding and finally turned to my mom.

"Let's read the book before we question the relationship." Which that he walked off to get everyone else.

_-End of Chapter-_

_I know, Author's notes right? Bleh. But. Some people wanted a talk to happen and I wasn't planning on that happening. I wanted you guys to think about how that talk would work. But since I updated Reading chapter 21 yesterday because my Wifi had been acting up. So that is why I updated it yesterday but I did promise to update every day, so I decided to update in this role. Everything/everyone seemed out of character to me in this chapter. Anyways I hope you liked it. _


	25. Reading Chapter 22

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 22

_Opening up_ to where Christian had marked the book, before he passed it, I took a deep breath and began.

**Chapter Twenty-Two. **

"_**Heal**_** you?"**

_**Heal him**_**? My thoughts echoed hers. **

"**You're the only way," he said patiently. "They only way to cure this disease. I've been watching you for years, waiting until I was certain."**

"Now that is a stalker." Christian said, glancing at me. The sense of the room had become awkward after Abe had let everyone back into the room.

**Lissa shook her head. "I can't…no. I can't do anything like that."**

"Yes. You can." Christian said, smiling adoringly at her.

"**Your healing powers are incredible. No one had any idea just how powerful."**

"**Come now, Vasilisa. I know about the raven-Natalie saw you do it. She'd been following you. And I know how you healed Rose."**

**She realized the pointlessness of denying it. "That…was different. Rose wasn't that hurt. But you…I can't do anything about Sandovky's Syndrome." **

"**Not **_**that**_** hurt?" he laughed. "I'm not talking about her ankle-which was still impressive. I'm talking about the car accident. Because you're right, you know. Rose didn't get 'that hurt.' She **_**died**_**." He let the words sink in. **

I glanced up at my parents, through my eyelashes. Their faces gave nothing away how they felt about me dying when I was apparently only fourteen.

"**That's…no. She lived," Lissa finally managed. **

"**No. Well, yes, she did. But I read all the reports. There was **_**no way**_** she should have survived-especially with so many injuries. You healed her. You brought her back." He sighed, half wistful and half weary. "I'd suspected you could do this for so long, and I tried so hard to repeat it…to see how much you could control…"**

**Lissa caught on and gasped. "The **_**animals**_**. It was you."**

"**With Natalie's help."**

"That's just psychopathic. Those poor animals." Jill pouted a bit.

"**Why would you do that? How could you?"**

"**Because I had to know. I have only a few more weeks to live, Vasilisa. If you can truly bring back the dead, then you can cure Sandovky's. I had to know before I took you away that you could heal at will and not just in moments of panic."**

"**Why take me at all?" A spark of anger flared up in her. "You're my near-uncle. If you wanted me to do this-if you really think I can…" Her voice and feelings showed me she didn't really entirely believe she could heal him. "Then why kidnap me? Why didn't you just ask?" **

"**Because it's not a onetime affair. It took a long time to figure out what you are, but I managed to acquire some of the old histories… scrolls kept out of Moroi museums. When I read about how wielding spirit works-"**

"**Wielding what?"**

"**Spirit. It's what you've specialized in." **

"**I haven't specialized in anything! You're crazy."**

"According to some people, we're the crazy ones cousin." Adrian told Lissa with all seriousness.

"**Where else do you think these powers of yours have come from? Spirit in another element, one few people have any more."**

**Lissa's mind was still reeling from the kidnapping and the possible truth that she'd brought me back from the dead. **

"**That doesn't make any sense. Even if it wasn't common, I still would have heard of another element! Or of someone having it." **

"You have, Rosie there told you."

"I swear to god, call me Rosie one more time…" I threaten Adrian.

"**No one knows about spirit anymore. It's been forgotten. When people do specialize in it, nobody realizes it. They think the person simply hasn't specialized at all."**

"**Look, if you're just trying to make me feel-" she abruptly cut herself off. She was angry and afraid, but behind those emotions, her higher reasoning had been processing what he'd said about spirit users and specializing. It now caught up with her. "Oh my God. Vladimir and Ms. Karp."**

**He gave her a knowing look. "You've known about this all along."**

"**No! I swear. It's just something Rose was looking into…She said they were like me…" Lissa was starting to change from a little scared to all scared. The news was too shocking. **

"**They **_**are**_** like you. The books even say Vladimir was 'full of spirit'." Victor seemed to find that funny. Seeing that smile made me want to slap him. **

"You probably would've…. No… A punch in the face is more your thing." I glared at Adrian wishing that he would just shut up once in his life.

"**I thought…" Lissa still wanted him to be wrong. The idea of not specializing was safer than specializing in some freakish element. "I thought that meant, like, the Holy Spirit." **

"**So does everyone else, but no. It's something else entirely. An element that's within all of us. A master element that can give you indirect control over the others." Apparently my theory about her specializing in all the elements wasn't so far off.**

**She worked hard to get a grip on his news about her own self-control. "That doesn't answer my question. It doesn't matter if I have this spirit thing or whatever. You didn't have to kidnap me."**

"**Spirit, as you've seen, can heal physical injuries. Unfortunately, it's only good on acute injuries. Onetime things. Rose's ankle. The accident wounds. For something chronic-say, a genetic disease like Sandovsky's-continual healings are required. Otherwise it will keep coming back. That's what would happen to me. I need you, Vasilisa. I need you to help me fight this and keep it away. So I can live."**

"**That still doesn't explain why you took me," She argued. "I would have helped you if you'd asked."**

"No I wouldn't." Said person glared at the book and I could see that this was upsetting her. I gave Christian a look and he seemed to understand and gently started coaxing her and calming her down since I was buzzy at the moment.

"**They never would have let you do it. The school. The council. Once they got over the shock of finding a spirit user, they'd get hung up on ethics. After all, how does one choose who gets to be healed? They'd say it wasn't fair. That is was like playing God. Or else they'd worry about the toll it'd take on you." **

**She flinched, knowing exactly what toll he referred too. Seeing her expression, he nodded. "Yes. I won't lie to you. It will be hard. It will exhaust you-mentally and physically. But I must do it. I am sorry. You'll be provided with feeders and other entertainments for your services. "**

**She leapt from the chair. Ben immediately stepped forward and pushed her back into it. "And then what? Are you going to just make me a prisoner here? Your own private nurse?"**

Lissa sighed. "Apparently."

**He made that annoying open-palmed gesture again. "I'm sorry. I have no choice."**

"You always have a choice." Jill incredibly astonished.

**White-hot anger blasted away the fear inside of her. She spoke in a low voice. "Yes. You do have the choice, because this is me we're talking about. "**

"Great minds, think alike." Adrian smirked in Jill's direction at seem to make her swoon.

**"It's better for you this way. You know how the others turned out. How Vladimir spent the last of his days stark, raving mad. How Sonya Karp had to be taken away. The trauma you've experienced since the accident comes from more than just your family's loss. It's from using spirit. The accident woke the spirit in you; your fear over seeing Rose dead made it burst out, allowing you to heal her. It forged your bond. And once it's out, you can't put it back. It's a powerful element-but it's also dangerous. Earth users get their power from the earth, air users from the air. But spirit? Where do you think that comes from?"**

**She glared. **

**"It comes from you, from your own essence. To heal another, you must give part of yourself. The more you do that, the more it will destroy you over time. You must be noticing that already. I've seen how much certain things upset you, how fragile you are. "**

**"I'm not fragile," **

"No, you are not." I heard Christian whisper to Lissa before he kissed her temple.

**Snapped Lissa. "And I'm not going to go crazy. I'm going to stop using spirit before things get worse. " **

**He smiled. "Stop using it? You might as well stop breathing. Spirit has its own agenda... You'll always have the urge to help and heal. It's part of you. You resisted the animals, but you didn't think twice about helping Rose. You can't even help compulsion-which spirit also gives you special strength in. And that's how it will always be. You can't avoid spirit. Better to stay here, in isolation, away from further sources of stress. You'd either have become increasingly unstable at the Academy, or they would have put you on some pill that would have made you feel better but stunted your power. "**

"And it did. Until this yoo-hoo came," I waved my hand towards Adrian, who slightly narrowed his eyes at me. "and they both wanted to know more about Spirit."

**A calm core of confidence settled inside her, one very different from what I'd observed over the last couple of years. "I love you, Uncle Victor, but I'm the one who has to deal with that and decide what to do. Not you. You're making me give up my life for yours. That's not fair. "**

**"It's a matter of which life means more. I love you too. Very much. But the Moroi are falling apart. Our numbers are dropping as we let the Strigoi prey upon us. We used to actively seek them out. Now Tatiana and the other leaders hide away. They keep you and your peers isolated. In the old days, you were trained to fight alongside your guardians! You were taught to use magic as a weapon. Not any longer. We wait. We are victims." As he stared off, both Lissa and I could see how caught up in his passion he was. "I would have changed that if I were king. I would have brought about a revolution the likes of which neither Moroi nor Strigoi have ever seen. I should have been Tatiana's heir. She was ready to name me before they discovered the disease, and then she would not. If I were cured... If I were cured, I could take my rightful place... " **

"Too bad, you cannot do so, anymore." I mumble.

**His words triggered something inside of Lissa, a sudden consideration for the state of the Moroi. She'd never contemplated what he'd said, about how different it might be if Moroi and their guardians fought side by side to rid the world of the Strigoi and their evil. It reminded her of Christian and what he'd said about using magic as a weapon too. But even if she did appreciate Victor's convictions, neither of us thought it was worth what he wanted her to do. **

**"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I'm sorry for you. But please don't make me do this. "**

**"I have to." She looked him straight in the eye. "I won't do it."**

**He inclined his head, and someone stepped forward from the corner. Another Moroi. No one I knew. Walking around behind Lissa, he untied her hands. **

**"This is Kenneth." **

"Kenneth?" Jill questioned looking around, seeing as she was fixing to ask another question I continued.

**Victor held his hands out toward her free ones. "Please, Vasilisa. Take my hands. Send the magic through me just as you did with Rose. "**

**She shook her head. "No. "**

**His voice was less kindly when he spoke again. "Please. One way or another, you will heal me. I'd rather it be on your terms, not ours. "**

I see Lissa shutter and wiggle closer to Christian. I swear it has been like they wanted to share the same body, sometimes, with as close as they've been trying to get to each other.

**She shook her head again. He made a slight gesture toward Kenneth. And that's when the pain started. Lissa screamed. I screamed. **

**In the SUV, Dimitri's grip on the wheel jerked in surprise, making us veer. Casting me an alarmed look, he started to pull over. **

**"No, no! Keep going!" I pressed my palms to my temples. "We have to get there!"**

**From behind my seat, Alberta reached forward and rested a hand on my shoulder. "Rose, what's happening?"**

**I blinked back tears. "They're torturing her...with air. This guy...Kenneth...he's making it press against her...into her head. The pressure's insane. It feels like my-her- skull's gonna explode." **

"That sounds horrible." Jill looked like she was the one in pain. Lissa and I both nod in agreement.

**I started sobbing. Dimitri looked at me out of the corner of his eye and pressed the gas pedal down harder. Kenneth didn't stop with just the physical force of air. He also used it to affect her breathing. Sometimes he'd smother her with it; other times he'd take it all away and leave her gasping. After enduring all that firsthand-and it was bad enough secondhand-I felt pretty confident I would have done anything they wanted. And finally, she did. **

"I probably would've died. Or I would've passed out, then they'll start it all over again."

**Hurting and bleary-eyed, Lissa took Victor's hands. I'd never been in her head when she worked magic and didn't know what to expect. At first, I felt nothing. Just a sense of concentration. Then... It was like... I don't even know how to describe it. Color and light and music and life and joy and love... So many wonderful things, all the lovely things that make up the world and make it worth living in. **

I could see that Adrian was listening intently. I had almost forgot he was trying to learn how to heal.

**Lissa summoned up all of those things, as many as she could, and sent them into Victor. The magic flowed through both of us, brilliant and sweet. It was alive. It was her life. And as wonderful as it all felt, she was growing weaker and weaker. But as all of those elements-bound by the mysterious spirit element-flowed into Victor, he grew stronger and stronger. **

**The change was startling. His skin smoothed, no longer wrinkled and pocked. The gray thinning hair filled out, turning dark and lustrous once more. The green eyes-still jadelike-sparkled again, turning alert and lively. **

**He'd become the Victor she remembered from her childhood. Exhausted, Lissa passed out. **

**In the SUV, I tried to relate what was happening. Dimitri's face grew darker and darker,**

Pretty much it was just now, I realized when I looked up-fully this time.

**And he spat out a string of Russian swear words he **_**still**_** hadn't taught me the meanings of. **

"And never will." I heard him say under his breath. I narrowed my eyes at him, resisting the urge to elbow him.

**When we were a quarter mile from the cabin, Alberta made a call on her cell phone, and our whole convoy pulled over. All of the guardians-more than a dozen-got out and stood huddled, planning strategy. Someone went ahead to scout and returned with a report on the number of people inside and outside of the cabin. When the group seemed ready to disperse, I started to get out of the car. Dimitri stopped me. **

**"No, Roza. You stay here. "**

"Let me guess that didn't stop her." My mother commented. No one said anything, so I took that to read so she could find out if I actually listened for once.

**"The hell with that. I have to go help her. " He cupped my chin with his hands, fixing me with his eyes. "You have helped her. Your job is done. You did it well. But this isn't any place for you. She and I both need you to stay safe. "**

**Only the realization that arguing would delay the rescue kept me quiet. Swallowing back any protests, I nodded. **

My mother nods her approval, which would disappear in a few more sentences, I realized.

**He nodded back and joined the others. All of them slipped off into the woods, blending with the trees. Sighing, I kicked the passenger seat back and lay down. I was so tired. Even though the sun poured through the windshield, it was night for me. I'd been up for most of it, and a lot had happened in that time. Between the adrenaline of my own role and sharing Lissa's pain, I could have passed out just like she had. **

"Why didn't you?" Jill looked purely curious.

**Except that she was awake now. **

"Oh."

**Slowly, her perceptions dominated mine once more. She lay on a couch in the cabin. One of Victor's henchmen must have carried her there after she'd fainted. Victor himself-alive and well now, thanks to his abuse of her-stood in the kitchen with the others as they all spoke in low voices about their plans. Only one stood near Lissa, keeping watch. He'd be easy to take down when Dimitri and the Badass Team burst inside. **

Jill and Lissa giggled, while I smiled at the two of them.

**Lissa studied the lone guardian and then glanced at a window beside the couch. Still dizzy from the healing, she managed to sit up. The guardian turned around, watching her warily. She met his eyes and smiled. **

**"You're going to stay quiet no matter what I do," she told him. "You aren't going to call for help or tell anyone when I leave. Okay?"**

"Compulsion," Adrian grinned at Lissa. "Good thinking."

"I don't agree with Compulsion, Princess. But under these circumstances I'll let it slide. And it would be useless to tell that you should've waited, you wanted to get away." My mom concluded looking at Lissa. Lissa smiled at her and nods.

**The thrall of compulsion slid over him. He nodded in agreement. Moving toward the window, she unlocked it and slid the glass up. As she did, a tumble of considerations played through her mind. She was weak. She didn't know how far from the Academy-from anything, really-she was. She had no clue how far she could get before someone noticed. **

**But she also knew she might not get another chance at escape. She had no intention of spending the rest of her life in this cabin in the woods. At any other time, I would have cheered on her boldness, but not this time. Not when all those guardians were about to save her. She needed to stay put. Unfortunately, she couldn't hear my advice. **

**Lissa climbed out the window, and I swore out loud. **

**"What? What'd you see?" asked a voice behind me. **

"Wait, who is in the car?" Jill questioned, looking around the room. I pointedly look at Christian while he smirked at the girl.

**I jerked up from my reclining position in the car, banging my head on the ceiling. **

"Smooth." Eddie mumbled in sarcasm.

**Glancing behind me, I found Christian peering up from the cargo space behind the farthest backseats. **

"Of course its Christian," Jill shook her head. "Should've known."

**"What are you doing here?" I asked. **

**"What's it look like? I'm a stowaway. "**

**"Don't you have a concussion or something?"**

**He shrugged like it didn't matter. What a great pair he and Lissa were. Neither afraid to take on crazy feats while seriously injured. Still, if Kirova had made me stay behind, I would have been right beside him in the back. **

Dimitri turned slightly to look at me. I gave a mischievous smile and read more.

**"What's happening?" he asked. "Did you see something new?**

**Hastily, I told him. I also got out of the car as I spoke. He followed. **

**"She doesn't know our guys are already coming for her. I'm going to go get her before she kills herself with exhaustion. "**

**"What about the guardians? The school's, I mean. Are you going to tell them she's gone?"**

**I shook my head. "They're probably already busting down the cabin's door. I'm going after her." She was somewhere off to the right side of the cabin. I could head in that direction but wouldn't be able to get very precise until I was much closer to her. Still, it didn't matter. I had to find her. Seeing Christian's face, I couldn't resist giving him a dry smile. "And yeah, I know. You're going with me. "**

"And you shouldn't have." Mom said.

"If I left him, he would've followed shortly after." Christian nods his agreement.


	26. Reading Chapter 23

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.**

Reading Chapter 23

_Jill asked _for the book next and I simply handed it to her without question. The faster we finished this the faster we got out of here. And looking at the book there was probably one maybe two more chapters left after this.

**Twenty-three.**

Jill began.

**I'd never had so much trouble staying out of Lissa's head before, but then, we'd never been through anything like this together either. The strength of her thoughts and feelings kept trying to pull me in as I hurried through the forest. **

**Running through the brush and woods, Christian and I moved farther and farther from the cabin. Man, how I wished Lissa had stayed back there. **

"I'm sorry." Lissa mumbled. I shook my head at her; there was nothing for her to be sorry about.

**I would have loved to see the raid through her eyes. But that was behind us now, and as I ran, Dimitri's push on laps and stamina paid off. She wasn't moving very quickly, and I could feel the distance closing between us, giving me a more precise idea of her location. Likewise, Christian couldn't keep up with me. I started to slow for him but soon realized the foolishness of that. **

**So did he. **

Christian gave an irritated sigh.

**"Go," he gasped out, waving me on. **

**When I reached a point close enough to her that I thought she could hear me, I called out her name, hoping to get her to turn around. Instead, what answered me was a set of howls- a soft canine baying. **

Confused, Jill looked up at me, without reading the next sentence. But realizing that the answer is coming up she read on.

**Psi-hounds. **

Jill breathed.

**Of course. Victor had said he hunted with them; he could control those beasts. I suddenly understood why no one at school recalled sending psi-hounds after Lissa and me in Chicago. The Academy hadn't arranged that; Victor had. **

**A minute later, I reached a clearing where Lissa cringed, back against a tree. From her looks and bond feelings, she should have fainted long ago. Only the barest scraps of will power kept her hanging on. Wide-eyed and pale, she stared in horror at the four psi-hounds cornering her. Noticing the full sunlight, it occurred to me that she and Christian had another obstacle to contend with out here. **

"A little late for that isn't it." Adrian put in his two sense.

**"Hey," I yelled at the hounds, trying to draw them toward me. Victor must have sent them to trap her, but I hoped they'd sense and respond to another threat-especially a Dhampir. Psi-hounds didn't like us any better than other animals did. **

**Sure enough, they turned on me, teeth bared and drool coming out of their mouths. **

"That sounds really gross." Jill commented.

**They resembled wolves, only with brown fur and eyes that glowed like orange fire. He'd probably ordered them not to harm her, but they had no such instructions regarding me. **

"Which is why you shouldn't have gotten in the way." I kept my face neutral, no emotion shown that I had cared.

**Wolves. Just like in science class. What had Ms. Meissner said? A lot of confrontations were all about willpower? Bearing this mind, I tried to project an alpha attitude, but I don't think they fell for it. Any one of them outweighed me. Oh yeah-they also outnumbered me. No, they didn't have anything to be scared of. **

**Trying to pretend this was just a free-for-all match with Dimitri, I picked up a branch from the ground that had about the same heft and weight as a baseball bat. I'd just positioned it in my hands when two of the hounds jumped me. Claws and teeth bit into me, but I held my own surprisingly well as I tried to remember everything I'd learned in the last two months about fighting bigger and stronger opponents. **

**I didn't like hurting them. They reminded me too much of dogs. But it was me or them, and survival instincts won out. One of them I managed to beat to the ground, dead or unconscious I didn't know. The other was still on me, still coming on fast and furious. His companions looked ready to join him, but then a new competitor burst on the scene-sort of. **

"Who?" Answering her own question.

**Christian. **

**"Get out of here," I yelled at him, shaking off my hound as its claws ripped into the bare skin of my leg, nearly toppling me over. I was still wearing the dress, though I'd shed the heels a while ago. But Christian, like any lovesick guy, didn't listen. **

"And he should've." Lissa gave him a pointed look, which he returned with an eye roll.

**He picked up a branch as well and swung it at one of the hounds. Flames burst from the wood. The hound backed up, still compelled to follow Victor's orders, though also clearly afraid of the fire. Its companion, the fourth hound, circled away from the torch and came up behind Christian. **

**Smart little bastard. **

"I have a bad feeling about this." Jill mumbles.

**It sprang at Christian, hitting him back first. The branch flew from his hands, the fire immediately going out. Both hounds then leapt onto his fallen form. I finished my hound-again feeling sick over what I had to do to subdue it-and moved toward the other two, wondering if I had the strength to take on these last ones. But I didn't have to. Rescue appeared in the form of Alberta, emerging through some trees. **

**With a gun in hand, she shot the hounds without hesitation. Boring as hell perhaps-and completely useless against Strigoi-but against other things? Guns were tried and true. The hounds stopped moving and slumped next to Christian's body. **

**And Christian's body... **

Jill hesitated before continuing.

**All three of us made our way over to it-Lissa and I practically crawling. When I saw it, I had to look away. My stomach lurched, and it took a lot of effort not to throw up. He wasn't dead yet, but I didn't think he had much longer. Lissa's eyes, wide and distraught, drank him in. Tentatively, she reached out toward him and then dropped her hand. **

"**I can't," she managed in a small voice. "I don't have the strength left."**

**Alberta, leathery face both hard and compassionate, gently tugged her arm. "Come on, Princess. We need to get out of here. We'll send help. "**

**Turning back to Christian, I forced myself to look at him and let myself feel how much Lissa cared about him. **

**"Lissa," I said hesitantly. She looked over at me, like she'd forgotten I was even there. **

"I kind of did." She looked at me sheepishly.

"It's okay. You had other things on your mind."

**Wordlessly, I brushed my hair away from my neck and tilted it toward her. She stared for a moment, blank-faced; then understanding shone in her eyes. Those fangs that lurked behind her pretty smile bit into my neck, and a small moan escaped my lips. I hadn't realized how much I'd missed it, that sweet, wonderful pain followed by glorious wonder. Bliss settled over me. Dizzying. Joyful. Like being in a dream. **

My mother looked like she wanted to yell at me for thinking that much about the good feeling of being feed on.

**I don't entirely remember how long Lissa drank from me. Probably not that long. She would never even consider drinking the quantities that would kill a person and make her a Strigoi. She finished, and Alberta caught me as I started to sway. Dizzily, I watched as Lissa leaned over Christian and rested her hands on him. In the distance, I heard the other guardians crashing through the forest. **

**No glowing or fireworks surrounded the healing. It all took place invisibly, occurring between Lissa and Christian. Even though the bite's endorphins had numbed my connection to her, I remembered Victor's healing and the wonderful colors and music she must be bringing forth. **

**A miracle unfolded before my eyes, and Alberta gasped. Christian's wounds closed. The blood dried up. Color-as much as a Moroi ever had, at least-returned to his cheeks. His eyelids fluttered, and his eyes regained their life again. Focusing on Lissa, he smiled. It was like watching a Disney movie. I must have keeled over after that, because I don't remember anything else. **

"You fainted from the blood lost…." Lissa said, she seemed thoughtful for a moment. "I didn't think I have taken that much blood, though."

"Doesn't matter."

**Eventually, I woke up in the Academy's clinic, where they forced fluids and sugar into me for two days. Lissa stayed by my side almost the entire time, and slowly, the events of the kidnapping unfolded. We had to tell Kirova and a few choice others about Lissa's powers, how she'd healed Victor and Christian and, well, me. The news was shocking, but the administrators agreed to keep it secret from the rest of the school. No one even considered taking Lissa away like they had Ms. Karp. **

**Mostly all the other students knew was that Victor Dashkov had kidnapped Lissa Dragomir. They didn't know why. Some of his guardians had died when Dimitri's band attacked-a damned shame, when guardian numbers were so low already. Victor was now being held under 24/7 guard at the school, waiting for a royal regiment of guardians to carry him away. The Moroi rulers might be a mostly symbolic government within another country's larger government, but they had systems of justice, and I'd heard about Moroi prisons. Not any place I'd want to be. **

**As for Natalie... That was trickier. **

"Too bad, so was still too Naïve to listen to her father." I mumbled. Only Dimitri heard me, as he looked over.

**She was still a minor, but she'd conspired with her father. She'd brought in the dead animals and kept an eye on Lissa's behavior-even before we left. Being an earth user like Victor, she'd also been the one to rot the bench that broke my ankle. After she'd seen me hold Lissa back from the dove, she and Victor realized that they needed to injure me to get to her-it was their only chance to get her to heal again. Natalie had simply waited for a good opportunity. She wasn't locked up or anything yet, and the Academy didn't know what to do with her until a royal command came. **

**I couldn't help but feel sorry for her. She was so awkward and self-conscious. Anyone could have manipulated her, let alone her father, whom she loved and from whom she so desperately wanted attention. She would have done anything. Rumor said she'd stood screaming outside the detention center, begging them to let her see him. They'd refused and hauled her away. **

That worked well, until she decided to turn.

**Meanwhile, Lissa and I slipped back into our friendship like nothing had happened. In the rest of her world, a lot had happened. After all that excitement and drama, she seemed to gain a new sense of what mattered to her. She broke up with Aaron. I'm sure she did it very nicely, but it still had to be hard on him. She'd dropped him twice now. The fact that his last girlfriend had cheated on him probably wasn't helping his confidence any. **

"Probably not." Eddie piped in agreement.

**And without any more hesitation, Lissa started dating Christian, not caring about the consequences to her reputation. Seeing them out in public, holding hands, made me do a double take. He didn't seem able to believe it himself. The rest of our classmates were almost too stunned to even comprehend it yet. They could barely process acknowledging his existence, let alone him being with someone like her. **

"It is a little weird." Adrian nods. "But fitting."

**My own romantic state was less rosy than hers-if you could even call it a romantic state. Dimitri hadn't visited me during my recovery, and our practices were indefinitely suspended. It wasn't until the fourth day after Lissa's kidnapping that I ran into him in the gym. We were alone. **

**I had come back for my gym bag and froze when I saw him, unable to speak. He started to walk past and then stopped. **

**"Rose... " he began after several uncomfortable moments. "You need to report what happened. With us. "I'd been waiting a long time to talk to him, but this wasn't the conversation I'd imagined. **

**"I can't do that. They'll fire you. Or worse. "**

**"They should fire me. What I did was wrong. "**

**"You couldn't help it. It was the spell... "**

"Very much true." Lissa looked at Dimitri. Christian and Eddie seemed to nod, almost reluctantly, though. I looked at Jill to keep reading.

**"It doesn't matter. It was wrong. And stupid." Wrong? Stupid? I bit my lip, and tears threatened to fill my eyes. I quickly tried to regain my composure. "Look, it's not a big deal."**

**"It is a big deal! I took advantage of you. "**

"Not really." Lissa said, defending me.

**"No," I said evenly. "You didn't." There must have been something telling in my voice because he met my eyes with a deep and serious intensity. **

**"Rose, I'm seven years older than you. In ten years, that won't mean so much, but for now, it's huge. I'm an adult. You're a child. " Ouch. I flinched. Easier if he'd just punched me. **

**"You didn't seem to think I was a child when you were all over me."**

"Oh." Adrian…

**Now he flinched. "Just because your body... Well, that doesn't make you an adult. We're in two very different places. I've been out in the world. I've been on my own. I've killed, Rose-people, not animals. And you... You're just starting out. Your life is about homework and clothes and dances. "**

"That's not what Rose's cares about." Lissa commented.

**"That's all you think I care about?"**

**"No, of course not. Not entirely. But it's all part of your world. You're still growing up and figuring out who you are and what's important. You need to keep doing that. You need to be with boys your own age. "**

**I didn't want boys my own age. But I didn't say that. I didn't say anything. **

**"Even if you choose not to tell, you need to understand that it was a mistake. And it isn't ever going to happen again, " he added. **

**"Because you're too old for me? Because it isn't responsible?"**

**His face was perfectly blank. "No. Because I'm just not interested in you in that way. "**

**I stared. The message-the rejection-came through loud and clear. Everything from that night, everything I'd believed so beautiful and full of meaning, turned to dust before my eyes. **

**"It only happened because of the spell. Do you understand?"**

**Humiliated and angry, I refused to make a fool of myself by arguing or begging. I just shrugged. "Yeah. Understood."**

"Ouch." Lissa and Jill said at the exact time. Keeping my face blank, from trying to smile. I simply nod and pretended I was still hurting from it.

**I spent the rest of the day sulking, ignoring both Lissa and Mason's attempts to draw me out of my room. It was ironic that I should want to stay inside. Kirova had been impressed enough by my performance with the rescue to end my house arrest. **

**Before school the next day, I made my way to where Victor was being held. The Academy had honest-to-goodness cells, complete with bars, and two guardians stood watch in the hallway nearby. It took a little bit of finagling on my part to get them to let me inside to talk to him. Even Natalie wasn't allowed in. But one of the guardians had ridden with me in the SUV and watched me undergo Lissa's torture. I told him I needed to ask Victor about what he'd done to Lissa. It was a lie, but the guardians bought it and felt sorry for me. **

A couple of people chuckled, knowing I very much do not like people feeling sorry for me.

**They allowed me five minutes to speak, backing up a discrete distance down the hall where they could see but not hear. **

**Standing outside Victor's cell, I couldn't believe I'd once felt sorry for him. Seeing his new and healthy body enraged me. He sat cross-legged on a narrow bed, reading. When he heard me approach, he looked up. **

**"Why Rose, what a nice surprise. Your ingenuity never fails to impress me. I didn't think they'd allow me any visitors. "**

**I crossed my arms, trying to put on a look of total guardian fierceness. "I want you to break the spell. Finish it off. "**

**"What do you mean?"**

**"The spell you did on me and Dimitri."**

"**That spell is done. It burned itself out. " **

**I shook my head. "No. I keep thinking about him. I keep wanting to... "**

**He smiled knowingly when I didn't finish. "My dear, that was already there, long before I set that up."**

**"It wasn't like this. Not this bad. "**

**"Maybe not consciously. But everything else... The attraction-physical and mental-was already in you. And in him. It wouldn't have worked otherwise. The spell didn't really add anything new-it just removed inhibitions and strengthened the feelings you already had for each other. "**

**"You're lying. He said he didn't feel that way about me."**

**"He's lying. I tell you, the spell wouldn't have worked otherwise, and honestly, he should have known better. He had no right to let himself feel that way. You can be forgiven for a schoolgirl's crush. But him? He should have demonstrated more control in hiding his feelings. Natalie saw it and told me. After just a few observations of my own, it was obvious to me too. It gave me the perfect chance to distract you both. I keyed the necklace's charm for each of you, and you two did the rest."**

"Sick bastard." Christian said a loud.

**"You're a sick bastard, doing that to me and him. And to Lissa. "**

"Yeah. That was a little sick, knowing where it could've left you and Dimitri and he didn't seem to care that that was kind of a rape situation." I stare at Lissa. Not surprised, but it was kind of that way. Not fully, no, but we were under the compulsion spell forced in a way to do what we almost did. But Dimitri would've been in trouble in any it went.

**"I have no regrets about what I did with her, " he declared, leaning against the wall. "I'd do it again if I could. Believe what you want, I love my people. What I wanted to do was in their best interest. Now? Hard to say. They have no leader, no real leader. There's no one worthy, really." He cocked his head toward me, considering. "Vasilisa actually might have been such a one-if she could ever have found it within herself to believe in something and overcome the influence of spirit. It's ironic, really. Spirit can shape someone into a leader and also crush her ability to remain one. The fear, depression, and uncertainty take over, and keep her true strength buried deep within her. Still, she has the blood of the Dragomirs, which is no small thing. And of course, she has you, her shadow-kissed guardian. Who knows? She may surprise us yet. "**

**"'Shadow-kissed'?" There it was again, the same thing Ms. Karp had called me. **

"Are we ever going to figure out what it means?" Jill questioned.

"Keep reading and you will."

**"You've been kissed by shadows. You've crossed into Death, into the other side, and returned. Do you think something like that doesn't leave a mark on the soul? You have a greater sense of life and the world-far greater than even I have-even if you don't realize it. You should have stayed dead. Vasilisa brushed Death to bring you back and bound you to her forever. You were actually in its embrace, and some part of you will always remember that, always fight to cling to life and experience all it has. That's why you're so reckless in the things you do. You don't hold back your feelings, your passion, your anger. It makes you remarkable. It makes you dangerous."**

"True. Very true…Spokane." Eddie shudders. Spokane, where I had taken down two Strigoi when my feelings of seeing Mason dead came into play of killing them.

**I didn't know what to say to that. I was speechless, which he seemed to like. **

**"It's what created your bond, too. Her feelings always press out of her, onto others. Most people can't pick up on them unless she's actually directing her thoughts toward them with compulsion. You, however, have a mind sensitive to extrasensory forces-hers in particular." He sighed, almost happily, and I remembered reading that Vladimir had saved Anna from death. That must have made their bond, too. "Yes, this ridiculous Academy has no idea what they have in either you or her. If not for the fact that I needed to kill you, I would have made you part of my royal guard when you were older. "**

"He just complimented… you? After… God. This man is crazy." Jill stopped reading to say this, then before any of us could comment on it, she read more.

**"You never would've had a royal guard. Don't you think people would have been weirded out by you suddenly recovering like that? Even if no one found out about Lissa, Tatiana never would have made you king. "**

**"You may be right, but it doesn't matter. There are other ways of taking power. Sometimes it's necessary to go outside the established channels. Do you think Kenneth is the only Moroi who follows me? The greatest and most powerful revolutions often start very quietly, hidden in the shadows." He eyed me. "Remember that. "**

**Odd sounds came from the detention center's entrance, and I glanced toward where I'd come in. The guardians who had let me in were gone. From around the corner, I heard a few grunts and thumps. I frowned and craned my head to get a better look. **

**Victor stood up. "Finally."**

"Finally what?" Jill questioned. I think now she is just questioning before she actually reads, almost like foreshadowing.

**Fear spiked down my spine-at least until I saw Natalie round the corner. **

**Mixed sympathy and anger flitted through me, but I forced a kind smile. She probably wouldn't see her father again once they took him. Villain or no, they should be allowed to say goodbye. **

**"Hey," I said, watching her stride toward me. There was an unusual purpose in her movements that some part of me whispered wasn't right. "I didn't think they'd let you in. " Of course, they weren't supposed to have let me in either. **

**She walked right up to me and-no exaggeration—launched me against the far wall. My body hit it hard, and black star-bursts danced across my vision. **

"Why did-"

"Just read." I interrupted, still wondering how she didn't know about Natalie.

**"What?..." I put a hand to my forehead and tried to get up. Unconcerned about me now, Natalie unlocked Victor's cell with a set of keys I'd seen on one of the guardian's belts. Staggering to my feet, I approached her. **

**"What are you doing?"**

**She glanced up at me, and that's when I saw it. The faint ring of red around her pupils. Skin too pale, even for a Moroi. Blood smudged around her mouth. And most telling of all, the look in her eyes. A look so cold and so evil, my heart nearly came to a standstill. It was a look that said she no longer walked among the living-a look that said she was now one of the Strigoi.**

At the moment Jill said Strigoi, the slot with food opened, dinner. And stopped any comments that were going to be made at that moment.

"There's one more chapter, maybe we should read it now, and not wait." A few people agreed with Jill. Lissa took the book, and read more.


	27. Reading Chapter 24

**Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy. **

Reading Chapter 24

_Lissa looked_ around the room before she stated reading aloud.

**Twenty-four.**

**In spite of all the training I'd received, all the lessons on Strigoi habits and how to defend against them, I'd never ever actually seen one. It was scarier than I'd expected. **

I sighed, as Christian, Eddie, Dimitri, Mom, and even Abe nods in agreement. Probably all thinking about to when they first saw one and thinking how they thought.

**This time, when she swung at me again, I was ready. Sort of. I dodged back, slipping out of reach, wondering what chance I had. I remembered Dimitri's joke about the mall. **

"Not a joke, Rose." My mom said instead of Dimitri, who I thought would've said so.

**No silver stake. Nothing to cut her head off with. No way to set her on fire. Running seemed like the best option after all, but she was blocking my way. **

"I couldn't go anywhere. And if I tried to pass her, she would've just attacked me and killed me faster." I made a face, and Lissa read on.

**Feeling useless, I simply backed down the hall as she advanced on me, her movements far more graceful than they'd ever been in life. Then, also faster than she'd ever moved in life, she leapt out, grabbed me, and slammed my head against the wall. Pain exploded in my skull, and I felt pretty sure that was blood I tasted in the back of my mouth. Frantically, I fought against her, trying to mount some kind of defense, but it was like fighting Dimitri on crack. **

That got a few smiles.

**"My dear," murmured Victor, "try not to kill her if you don't have to. We might be able to use her later. "**

"What does he mean by that?" Lissa looked up at me, and I shrug.

**Natalie paused in her attack, giving me a moment to back up, but she never took her cold eyes off me. "I'll try not to."**

**There was a skeptical tone in her voice. "Get out of here now. I'll meet you there when I'm done. "**

**"I can't believe you!" I yelled after him. "You got your own daughter to turn Strigoi?"**

**"A last resort. A necessary sacrifice made for the greater good. Natalie understands." He left. **

Everyone looked discussed.

**"Do you?" I hoped I could stall her with talking, just like in the movies. I also hoped my questions would hide how utterly and completely terrified I was. "Do you understand? God, Natalie. You...You turned. Just because he told you to?"**

**"My father's a great man," she replied. "He's going to save the Moroi from the Strigoi."**

Snorts filled the room.

**"Are you insane?" I cried. I was backing up again and suddenly hit the wall. My nails dug into it, as though I could dig my way through. "You are a Strigoi."**

**She shrugged, almost seeming like the old Natalie. "I had to do it to get him out of here before the others came. One Strigoi to save all of the Moroi. It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic. "**

**"But you'll want to kill Moroi! You won't be able to help it. "**

**"He'll help me stay in control. If not, then they'll have to kill me." **

"She sounds totally delusional." Jill commented.

**She reached out and grabbed my shoulders, and I shuddered at how casually she talked about her own death. It was almost as casual as the way she was no doubt contemplating my death. **

**"You are insane. You can't love him that much. You can't really-"**

**She threw me into a wall again, and as my body collapsed in a heap on the floor, I had a feeling I wouldn't be getting up this time. Victor had told her not to kill me... But there was a look in her eyes, a look that said she wanted to. She wanted to feed off me; the hunger was there. It was the Strigoi way. I shouldn't have talked to her, I realized. I'd hesitated, just as Dimitri had warned. **

**And then, suddenly, he was there, charging down the hallway like Death in a cowboy duster. **

Jill and Lissa started giggling at 'Death in a cowboy duster.' I smiled to myself, knowing Dimitri did not like to be called that at all. Which I could see when I looked at him with that exasperated look on his face.

**Natalie spun around. She was fast, so fast. But Dimitri was fast too and avoided her attack, a look of pure power and strength on his face. With an eerie fascination, I watched them move, circling each other like partners in a deadly dance. She was stronger than him, clearly, but she was also a fresh Strigoi. Gaining superpowers doesn't mean you know how to use them. **

**Dimitri, however, knew how to use the ones he had. After both giving and receiving some vicious hits, he made his move. The silver stake flashed in his hand like a streak of lightning, then it snaked forward-into her heart. He yanked it out and stepped back, his face impassive as she screamed and fell to the floor. After a few horrible moments, she stopped moving. **

**Just as quickly, he was leaning over me, slipping his arms under my body. He stood up, carrying me like he had when I hurt my ankle. **

"I thought you were passed out."

"How else was he supposed to carry me." I pointed out to Christian.

**"Hey, Comrade," I murmured, my own voice sounding sleepy. "You were right about Strigoi." The world started to darken, and my eyelids drooped. **

**"Rose. Roza. Open your eyes." I'd never heard his voice so strained, so frantic. "Don't go to sleep on me. Not yet. "**

**I squinted up at him as he carried me out of the building, practically running toward the clinic. "Was he right?"**

**"Who?"**

**"Victor... He said it couldn't have worked. The necklace." I started to drift off, lost in the blackness of my mind, but Dimitri prompted me back to consciousness. **

**"What do you mean?"**

**"The spell. Victor said you had to want me... To care about me... For it to work. " When he didn't say anything, I tried to grip his shirt, but my fingers were too weak. "Did you? Did you want me?"**

Jill and Lissa both looked hopeful. I tried to keep the smile off my face.

**His words came out thickly. "Yes, Roza. I did want you. I still do. I wish... We could be together."**

"**Then why did you lie to me?" We reached the clinic, and he managed to open the door while still holding me. As soon as he stepped inside, he began yelling for help. **

**"Why did you lie?" I murmured again. Still holding me in his arms, he looked down at me. I could hear voices and footsteps getting closer. **

**"Because we can't be together."**

**"Because of the age thing, right?" I asked. "Because you're my mentor?"**

**His fingertip gently wiped away a tear that had escaped down my cheek. "That's part of it," he said. "But also... Well, you and I will both be Lissa's guardians someday. I need to protect her at all costs. If a pack of Strigoi come, I need to throw my body between them and her." **

**"I know that. Of course that's what you have to do. " The black sparkles were dancing in front of my eyes again. I was fading out. **

Lissa looked confused for a moment.

**"No. If I let myself love you, I won't throw myself in front of her. I'll throw myself in front of you. "**

Again, since the 'scene' with Dimitri and me almost getting naked, Jill and Lissa 'awed'. I couldn't suppress the smile that came to my face. Though there was still something on Lissa face that said she didn't like the reason Dimitri and I couldn't be together was mostly because of her.

**The medical team arrived and took me out of his arms. And that was how, two days after being discharged, I ended up back in the clinic. My third time in the two months we'd been back at the Academy. It had to be some kind of record. I definitely had a concussion and probably internal bleeding, but we never really found out. When your best friend is a kick-ass healer, you sort of don't have to worry about those things. **

I beamed at Lissa, who smiled at me.

**I still had to stay there for a couple of days, but Lissa-and Christian, her new sidekick—**

"Sidekick?" The person in question remarked.

**Almost never left my side when they weren't in class. Through them, I learned bits and pieces about the outside world. Dimitri had realized there was a Strigoi on campus when they'd found Natalie's victim dead and drained of blood: Mr. Nagy of all people. A surprising choice, but since he was older, he'd been able to put up less of a fight. No more Slavic art for us. The guardians in the detention center had been injured but not killed. She'd simply slammed them around as she had me. **

**Victor had been found and recaptured while trying to escape campus. I was glad, even though it meant Natalie's sacrifice had been for nothing. Rumors said that Victor hadn't seemed afraid at all when the royal guards came and carried him away. He'd simply smiled the whole time, like he had some secret they didn't know about. **

"That sounds really creepy." Jill frowned.

**In as much as it could, life returned to normal after that. Lissa did no more cutting. The doctor prescribed her something-an anti-depressant or anti-anxiety drug, I couldn't remember which-that made her feel better. I'd never really known anything about those kinds of pills. I thought they made people silly and happy. **

"If given too much they could." Lissa said.

**But it was a pill like any other, meant to fix something, and mostly it just kept her normal and feeling stable. Which was a good thing-because she had some other issues to deal with. Like Andre. She'd finally believed Christian's story, and allowed herself to acknowledge that Andre might not have been the hero she'd always believed him to be. It was hard on her, but she finally reached a peaceful decision, accepting that he could have had both good and bad sides, like we all do. **

"Unless you're Rose and you only have a bad side." I stick my tongue out at him. While Lissa hit his arm.

**What he'd done to Mia saddened her, but it didn't change the fact that he'd been a good brother who loved her. Most importantly, it finally freed her from feeling like she needed to be him to make her family proud. She could be herself-which she proved daily in her relationship with Christian. **

**The school still couldn't get over that. She didn't care. She laughed it off, ignoring the shocked looks and disdain from the royals who couldn't believe she'd date someone from a humiliated family. Not all of them felt that way though. Some who had gotten to know her during her brief social whirlwind actually liked her for her, no compulsion necessary. They liked her honesty and openness, preferring it to the games most royals played. **

**A lot of royals ignored her, of course, and talked viciously about her behind her back. Most surprising of all, Mia-despite being utterly humiliated-managed to wiggle back into the good graces of a couple of these royals. It proved my point. She wouldn't stay down for long. **

"I think I told you that." Lissa said.

"No. Why do you think I didn't want you bothering with compelling everyone, once you stopped Mia would've showed up again."

**And, in fact, I saw the first signs of her revenge lurking again when I walked past her one day on the way to class. She stood with a few other people and spoke loudly, clearly wanting me to hear. **

**"-perfect match. Both of them are from completely disgraced and rejected families."**

**I clenched my teeth and kept walking, following her gaze to where Lissa and Christian stood. They were lost in their own world and formed a gorgeous picture, she blond and fair and he blue-eyed and black-haired. I couldn't help but stare too. Mia was right. Both of their families were disgraced. **

"Hey!" They both yelled at the same time. Eddie, Adrian, and Jill laughed slightly while I smiled at the pair.

**Tatiana had publicly denounced Lissa, and while no one "blamed" the Ozeras for what had happened to Christian's parents, the rest of the royal Moroi families continued to keep their distance. **

**But Mia had been right about the other part too. In some ways, Lissa and Christian were perfect for each other. Maybe they were outcasts, but the Dragomirs and Ozeras had once been among the most powerful Moroi leaders. And in only a very short time, Lissa and Christian had started shaping one another in ways that could put them right up there with their ancestors. He was picking up some of her polish and social poise; she was learning to stand up for her passions. The more I watched them, the more I could see an energy and confidence radiating around them. **

They smiled at each other and Lissa continued on.

**They weren't going to stay down either. **

"Unless you keep breaking up for stupid reasons." I told them, both rolled their eyes at me.

**And I think that, along with Lissa's kindness, may have been what attracted people to her. Our social circle began to steadily grow. Mason joined, of course, and made no secret of his interest in me. Lissa teased me a lot about that, and I didn't yet know what to do about him. Part of me thought maybe it was time to give him a shot as a serious boyfriend, even though the rest of me yearned for Dimitri. **

**For the most part, Dimitri treated me just like anyone would expect of a mentor. He was efficient. Fond. Strict. Understanding. There was nothing out of the ordinary, nothing that would make anyone suspect what had passed between us-save for an occasional meeting of our eyes. And once I overcame my initial emotional reaction, I knew he was-technically-right about us. Age was a problem, yes, particularly while I was still a student at the Academy. But the other thing he'd mentioned... It had never entered my mind. It should have. Two guardians in a relationship could distract each other from the Moroi they were supposed to protect. We couldn't allow that to happen, couldn't risk her life for our own wants. **

Lissa looked up at Dimitri and I and shook her head.

**Otherwise, we'd be no better than the Badica guardian who'd run off. I'd told Dimitri once that my own feelings didn't matter. She came first. **

**I just hoped I could prove it. **

**"It's too bad about the healing," Lissa told me. **

**"Hmm?" We sat in her room, pretending to study, but my mind was off thinking about Dimitri. I'd lectured her about keeping secrets, but I hadn't told her about him or about how close I'd come to losing my virginity. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to tell. **

**She dropped the history book she'd been holding. "That I had to give up the healing. And the compulsion." A frown crossed her face at that last part. The healing had been regarded as a wondrous gift in need of further study; the compulsion had met with serious reprimands from Kirova and Ms. Carmack. "I mean, I'm happy now. I should have gotten help a long time ago-you were right about that. I'm glad I'm on the medication. But Victor was right too. I can't use spirit anymore. I can still sense it, though... I miss being able to touch it. "**

**I didn't entirely know what to say. I liked her better like this. Losing that threat of madness had made her whole again, confident and outgoing, just like the Lissa I'd always known and loved. Seeing her now, it was easy to believe what Victor had said about her becoming a leader. She reminded me of her parents and of Andre-how they used to inspire devotion in those who knew them. **

I could hear the smile in her voice as she read.

**"And that's another thing," she continued. "He said I couldn't give it up. He was right. It hurts, not having the magic. I want it so badly sometimes. "**

**"I know, " I said. I could feel that ache within her. The pills had dulled her magic, but not our bond. **

**"And I keep thinking about all the things I could do, all the people I could help." She looked regretful. **

"Sometimes, helping yourself first is better." Dimitri said, almost having a Zen like quality.

**"You have to help yourself first," **

I smiled at the likeness of our thoughts. Always understanding and knowing.

**I told her fiercely. "I don't want you getting hurt again. I won't let you. "**

**"I know. Christian says the same thing. "She got that dopey smile she always did when she thought about him. If I'd known what idiots being in love would make them, I might not have been so keen to get them back together."**

"I resident that." Lissa continued with the book. Just clearly letting me she did not like me calling them idiots.

**And I guess you guys are right. Better to want the magic and be sane than to have it and be a lunatic. There's no middle ground. "**

**"No," I agreed. "Not with this."**

**Then, out of nowhere, a thought smacked me in the head. There was a middle ground. Natalie's words reminded me of it. **_**It's worth it, worth giving up the sun and the magic**_**. **

**The magic. **

**Ms. Karp hadn't become Strigoi simply because she'd gone crazy. She'd become Strigoi to stay sane. **

"Uh?" Jill, of course.

**Becoming Strigoi cut a person completely off from magic. In doing that, she couldn't use it. She couldn't feel it. She wouldn't want it anymore. Staring at Lissa, I felt a knot of worry coil within me. **

**What if she figured that out? Would she want to do it too? No, I quickly decided. Lissa would never do that. She was too strong a person, too moral. And so long as she stayed on the pills, her higher reasoning would keep her from doing something so drastic. Still, the whole concept prodded me to find out one last thing. The following morning, I went to the chapel and waited in one of the pews until the priest showed up. **

**"Hello, Rosemarie," he said, clearly surprised. "Can I help you with something?"**

**I stood up. "I need to know more about St. Vladimir. I read that book you gave me and a couple others." Best not to tell him about stealing the ones in the attic. "But nobody told how he died. What happened? How did his life end? Was he, like, martyred?"**

**The priest's bushy eyebrows rose. "No. He died of old age. Peacefully. "**

**"You're sure? He didn't become Strigoi or kill himself?"**

**"No, of course not. Why would you think that?"**

**"Well... He was holy and everything, but he was also kind of crazy, right? I read about it. I thought he might have, I don't know, given into that. "**

**His face was serious. "It's true he fought demons-insanity-his whole life. It was a struggle, and he did want to die sometimes. But he overcame it. He didn't let it defeat him. " **

**I stared in wonder. Vladimir wouldn't have had pills, and he'd clearly continued to use magic. **

**"How? How did he do that?"**

**"Will power, I guess. Well . . . " He paused. "That and Anna. "**

**"Shadow-kissed Anna," I murmured. "His guardian."**

**The priest nodded. "She stayed with him. When he grew weak, she was the one who held him up. She urged him to stay strong and to never give in to his madness. "**

"But what happened to Anna?"

"I forgot to ask." I told Jill.

**I left the chapel in a daze. Anna had done it. Anna had let Vladimir walk that middle ground, helping him to work miracles in the world without meeting a horrible end. Ms. Karp hadn't been as lucky. She hadn't had a bound guardian. She hadn't had anyone to hold her up. **

"That," Jill begun. "That sucks."

**Lissa did. Smiling, I cut across the quadrangle toward the commons. I felt better about life than I had in a very long time. We could do this, Lissa and me. We could do it together. **

**Just then, I saw a dark figure out of the corner of my eye. It swooped past me and landed on a nearby tree. I stopped walking. It was a raven, large and fierce-looking, with shining black feathers. **

**A moment later, I realized it wasn't just a raven; it was the raven. The one Lissa had healed. No other bird would land so close to a dhampir. And no other bird would be looking at me in such an intelligent, familiar way. I couldn't believe he was still around. A chill ran down my spine, and I started to back up. Then the truth hit me. "You're bound to her too, aren't you?" I asked, fully aware that anyone who saw me would think I was crazy. "She brought you back. You're shadow-kissed."**

"So you have two Shadow kissed." Adrian stated, I simply nod Lissa's answer.

**That was actually pretty cool. I held out my arm to it, half hoping it'd come land on me in some sort of dramatic, movie-worthy gesture. All it did was look at me like I was an idiot, spread its wings, and fly off. **

**I glared as it flew off into the twilight. Then I turned around and headed off to find Lissa. From far away, I heard the sound of cawing, almost like laughter.**

"You can't any more insane than that." Christian started laughing. Getting tired of him, I launched myself at him only to be caught by Dimitri around the waist. He murmured for me to calm down. While I crossed my arms over my chest, I glared at Christian who was smirking at me. He was going to open his mouth, but the speaker sounded.

"Very good, at finishing the first book. As a reward…" The voice paused and the slot opened, and box sat in it. Dimitri walked over pulling it and carrying it to the middle. Mom was the one who opened it. Bags with our names on it filled the box. Handing out the bags, it had a few changes of clothing.

"Clothing. I know you guys are probably tired of wearing the same clothing. Congratulations on finishing. Tomorrow you will start the next book."

With that the voice stopped. We looked at each other for a moment, before all of us looked back down at the bags…


	28. Thank You

So _The Beginning of Secrets _is finished. Thank you to everyone who favorite and followed this. **The Reading of Frostbite **will be called _A Death of a Friend_ it will be up the first of April. So keep an eye out for it. It'll be update on the 'old' **Reading Frostbite**, I will be removing all the old chapters on it and add the whole book. So if you are following that already you are good to go. If not, go ahead and follow it so you can get the update when I start posting it. The plot will be the same as it already is on **Reading Frostbite**, because I've already had the last couple chapters filled with it and I was too lazy to change everything up-to go along with _The Beginning of Secrets_-for the reposting.

Thank you to: **Gams2000**,** BekaRoo**,** Beverlie4055**,** Missy789**,** bboop14**,** hannahstrepke**,** twilightsmomma**,** night23**,** loventherussian17**,** LoveIsLouder13**,** Addie99**,** Lithium2016**,and every **Guest **people who commented on the story, I liked reading the comments you all put up.


	29. AN Question

First, okay i lied. I am going to start with a different plot for Frostbite- Last Sacrifice. Also. And many don't believe, but Abe Mazur's element is Earth i've known that so when i post it don't say anything. Cause it's annoying that people fight over that, i've seen it and even in the books (Bloodlines) it says he is an Earth user. (Just had to put both of those out there.)

Know for the real reason for this.

I have a question, its stupid but i need the answer when i start posting more of my 'Reading the books' okay. So i looked up Eric and Andre Dragomir and Ivan Zelkovs but i can't find out what element they had. Does anyone know? I've looked up every other Moroi i was going to use and I found theirs but i can't for Andre, Eric, and Ivan. Please help.


End file.
